Rolling In The Deep
by Zombiebubbles
Summary: Love is complicated...very, very complicated especially for Kurt, Dave and Blaine. A little more summary inside. Set after "Original Song" then will veer wildly off cannon! Set as M for language and eventual sexy times. Reviews make me a better writer!
1. Chasing Pavements

This will be a long fic. I would say that the prequel to this is my other fic _Needs to be said..._ You can probably skip it if you wish but especially for the first chapter that prequel will give you some context. This story will have a lot of Klaine and will also have a lot Kurtofsky in it. I really enjoy both ships (mostly because I love Kurt, Dave and Blaine) so I will try to do both justice and treat each character with the dignity and respect they deserve. But just so people know Kurtofksy is the endgame in my head.

It starts off after 2x16 "Original Song" and then will veer wildly off cannon...but since I have four weeks we will just have to see how far along I get.

Each chapter will be named after an Adele song. Because her music rocks.

And yeah, I don't own Glee or anything like that.

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Chapter 1- Chasing Pavements

"What? Does this have anything to do with the parakeet dying?" Dave had to sit up and ask. Because he couldn't believe what he was hearing...Kurt was coming back?

Kurt winced on his side of the phone. He couldn't blame Dave for not understanding how important the bird had been to Kurt and even on his good days Dave usually had a foot lodged in his mouth somewhere. "It was a canary name Pavarotti. And no, this has everything to do with tuition money. My dad just can't afford it anymore. They are letting us wait until Spring break."

Dave realized that he probably could have been a bit more sensitive about the bird. Kurt had really liked the bird. Kurt had called him a crying mess early on the morning the bird had bought it. But he couldn't help himself. This was too huge. "But, you're coming back to Mckinely?"

"Looks that way…" Kurt let out a deep sigh, trying to figure out when the phone conversations between him and Dave had become so 'normal'. It had been after that rather awkward but illuminating dinner about a month ago. Kurt had honestly expected Dave to lose interest in the offered friendship and just go back to them pretending that the other didn't exist in their respective worlds.

But Dave had called him three days after the dinner. And they had kept talking. It had basically become a regular part of each others weeks. They hadn't been able to meet up too often. Conflicting schedules and Dave's parents still freaking out about the teen drinking suspension thing Dave had gone through. Kurt had never expected them to be able to talk to each other about anything, let alone almost everything... They had talked about everything from drinking, to twitter, to religion. It hadn't surprised Kurt to find out that Dave's parents were Catholic. Dave had yet to decide where he really stood with the whole God thing. They had also talked about Dave's anger management issues and him going to see someone for them. Dave had even talked to Kurt about how to possibly (hypothetically) come out to his parents, when he felt ready enough.

Dave shrugged to himself more than to Kurt, who couldn't see him anyway, "Seems a bit crazy to me…but I can't say I'll be upset to see you prancing around the hallways in Mickinely again."

Kurt could hear the smile in Dave's voice. And Kurt could also feel the little flush that ran up to his face when Dave said things like that. Dave had been gradually trying out a casual type of flirting that Kurt had found very easy to meet halfway... After all it had to be totally innocent...Right? Kurt shook off the thought and responded how he usually did. "I don't prance Dave, I strut. Ponies prance."

Dave chuckled. "Whatever." It was true that Kurt did this little sashay thing with his hips that Dave seemed to have burned into his mind. He didn't care what Kurt wanted to call it. It had been one of the reasons why Dave had liked to walk up behind Hummel before he pushed him. Just so he could watch him walk. And in a couple of days he would be able to see it again. Watch him walk...not shove him around. Dave suddenly became worried about how Kurt would think Dave would act when he came back. He started speaking quickly, "It will probably still suck. I mean, it is McKinely. But just so you know I'm not going to mess with you. And I think I can get Az and at least some of the football players to calm down too…but still. I don't know if I can stop everyone."

Kurt let a sad little smile ghost over his lips. He had gotten to know Dave really well over the last month. The football player had made impressive strides. And Dave had been amazingly open to Kurt. Which was why Kurt had been dreading this moment of todays conversation. But it had to happen before he came back to McKinely."Thank you Dave. That means a lot. I guess I'll just have to deal with that other stuff as it comes up. But this time I won't be quite as alone..."

There was something in the singers voice that made Dave frown. That was a strange way to put it. Apart of Dave wanted to just leave it alone, go back to the mild jokey/flirty stuff that were his favorite parts of all their conversations... But he couldn't, they hadn't really talked about what would be expected of the other if Kurt ever came back to McKinely, "You talking about me or the glee club?"

Kurt closed his eyes, took a deep breath and started talking. He wasn't sure why he was so worried about bring Blaine up. After all Kurt and Dave were friends now. Or at least friendly with each other. And of course Dave liked Kurt because Kurt was the only other young, gay person that he knew, so it was only natural that their would be some feelings there. _It was going to be okay. It had to be..._ "Actually I meant Blaine. He's going to be coming back to McKinely with me."

Dave's frown deepened and he dropped back into a lying position on his bed. Blaine, Eyebrows, why was Blaine following Kurt? "Doesn't he live like far the fuck away though?"

Okay, not the reaction that Kurt had been worried about. He knew Dave well enough to know that he hadn't quite figured out what Kurt was trying to say. _Keep it light Kurt. _ He said to himself as he rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment trying to think. "Interesting placement on that explicative Dave. Blaine's parents got a special dispensation from the State school board or something. He has a car. He can commute."

Dave still hadn't figured it out. The last time Kurt had specifically talked about Blaine, Blaine had been kissing girls. Dave knew that Blaine had gotten over that. Kurt had told him the whole story. He'd nearly pissed himself laughing at the second Rachel Berry Blaine kiss. Suddenly Dave started thinking about what two out and proud guys at McKinely might mean. "Jesus. It's going to be like a GBLT meeting up in here."

Kurt wanted to tell Dave about Blaine. About the kiss, about him and Blaine being a couple. About how happy he was. About how wonderful it was. But Kurt couldn't do it, just like he hadn't been able to really tell Blaine how often he and Dave had been talking to each other. It was still rather heady and new and extremely confusing. But Kurt didn't want to hurt anyone so he let it go, "I think you meant GLBT. A GBLT sounds like a gay sandwich."

Dave mentally sighed with relief. Everything was fine. He and Kurt were still joking around. Still friends. Dave wasn't ready to admit this but Kurt had quickly become one of his closest friends. And he really didn't want to fuck that up. "BLT's are delicious…Especially the gay ones."

Kurt tried to hold in the giggle that had nearly escaped as a full throated laugh. "Honestly Dave. The places your brain makes connections."

Dave's grin widened at hearing the giggle, "Whatever. You totally laughed."

Kurt raised a hand that the boy on the other end of the line couldn't see, "Point conceded. But I'm sorry for doing this but I need to go call Blaine. He's kind of freaking out about coming back to a public school. He wants me to catch him up on McKinely life."

There was a long silence before Dave hastily said, "No worries. I get it. Talk to you later Kurt."

Kurt let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, "Bye Dave."

"Hey Kurt?"

"Yes Dave?"

"See you in school."

"See you there."

After Kurt had hung up Dave tossed his phone onto his dresser and stretched back out on his bed. He had been grounded so long that turning on the computer was no longer second nature like it used to be. He swung his legs over the bed and turned on his Xbox. Left for Dead always helped him concentrate.

He was knee deep in a hoard of bloody zombies when it hit Dave... _Kurt and Eyebrows were dating. _There would be no other reason why Blaine would voluntarily move to McKinely with Kurt. No reason why Kurt had tried to bring him up today. Kurt had been trying to find a nice way to tell him... Without realizing what he was doing he threw his game controller across the room where it smashed against his closet door.

_Shit! Shit! Shit!_ He had to calm down. He turned off the Xbox and started the relaxation method his psychiatrist had taught him to do when he started getting angry or feeling out of control.

W_ell, it really wasn't that surprising was it? _Dave thought to himself... _He'd never told Kurt that...Hell that he was in love with him? Except that kiss. That was all he had had. He'd flirted around it but never said it... and now, it was too late. _"Fuck that." _It was not too late. Not by a long shot..._

Dave hadn't even begun to fight. But he knew exactly where to start...

Glee club.


	2. Hometown Glory

_Hello party people! Okay so I'm just sending out a bit of a warning now about my updating habits. I will try to update as quickly as I write. But I live in Japan and due to the need to conserve power we are having lots of rolling blackouts...So like I said I will update as quickly as TEPCO and my brain allow me. Reviews are wonderful and help me write faster. I know these first two chapters are a bit slow but things will get much more interesting starting in the third. Enjoy!  
_

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Chapter 2 - Hometown Glory

Kurt sat in his room wondering if it was safe to go down stairs yet. He fingered his cell phone nervously, wanting to message Blaine. Really, he wanted to call Blaine and just listen to his voice. Kurt knew that he also needed to message Dave and let him know that Kurt's family knew about them talking. Maybe Blaine would be able to give Kurt some advice about how to approach the current reason for the unrest in the Hummel-Hudson house... And yet...maybe not. As much as Kurt adored Blaine, he sometimes gave horrible advice. Absolutely the worst; and this was a topic that would need to be dealt with very carefully. Kurt stopped fidgeting with the iphone and listened...At least it sounded a bit calmer now. He couldn't hear this father's raised voice anymore. Kurt guessed that whatever Carol had been doing was working.

The atmosphere had been tense in the house for the last hour.

**_AN HOUR AND FORTY MINUTES AGO..._**

Kurt should have known something was up when Burt had called him into the family room. Finn was already parked on the couch, hands on his knees, looking uncomfortable. Finn glanced up at Kurt and gave him a trapped animal look that screamed _RUN! RUN WHILE YOU CAN!_ But Kurt had just looked to Carol and then to his dad and asked, "What's going on?"

Burt put a hand on Carol's shoulder the two looked at each other for a moment before looking back at Kurt, "This is an experiment."

"An experiment?" Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"Family talk time!" Carol said with a big smile.

"I beg your pardon?" Kurt confusedly looked from one to the other.

"Well, it just came to our attention that we hadn't been spending very much time as a family unit lately. Because with everything that has been going on we've let that slip. But since you are going back to McKinely Carol and I wanted to start a tradition to have a time where we can come to talk about things as a family. So, take a seat next to Finn, Kurt and let's get started."

"Okay." Kurt moved to the couch and folded his hands together in his lap. _Heart in the right place. Heart in the right place. _Kurt said over and over in his head like a mantra.

Carol and Burt started off talking about their days. Pretty normal dinner table conversation stuff. At about twenty minutes in, while Kurt was wishing he hadn't put off calling Blaine tonight, Burt turned to the boys, "So, who wants to go first?"

Kurt gave a quizzical look toward Finn, who just looked back and shrugged his shoulders. _Yes, Finn, very helpful._ Kurt couldn't help thinking. Kurt sighed and said, "I guess I can."

"Great!" Carol said. She seemed to be really happy that things were going well so far.

Kurt returned her encouraging smile. He really liked Carol, she was sweet and fun. Kurt would try and make this work for his father and for her. "What should I talk about? How about the new scarf I saw in Vogue? I also saw this really nice messenger bag online."

Burt cleared his throat a bit, "Well, I was hoping we could talk about how you feel about transferring back."

"I feel fine about it. I mean I get to go back to school with all my friends. I really liked Dalton but times being what they are I'm pretty positive about everything."

"You're not scarred at all?"

"Why would I be scarred?" After the words left his mouth he realized his mistake. And even if he hadn't caught it the looks he was being given by all three other people in the room would've been enough.

Finn was, amazingly, the one that recovered the quickest. "Uh, man, what about Karofsky? Aren't you worried about him?"

Kurt looked around the family room. His father was holding Carol's hand as they looked at him with concern and worry. Finn's brow was drawn together like it always was when he was thinking too hard, or watching _How Stuff Works_ on the Discovery Channel. Kurt knew it was time to let them know what was going on.

"I don't think he will be a problem for me anymore."

Burt's eyes narrowed, "You seem pretty certain of that. We could always see if we could get the teachers to be sure that he stays away from you. We could even get a restraining order."

"Dad, don't those things cost money and take forever? I don't think I need to get a restraining order against Dave anyway." Kurt was trying to sound practical and detached.

"Yeah," Finn chimed in, "You don't need to worry Burt. This time the Glee club will be like super ninja bodyguards for you. I won't let anything happen to you man. Not from an ass-hat like Karofs...did you just call him Dave?"

"Finn, language!" Carol remonstrated.

Kurt chose not to answer Finn's rather disturbingly perceptive final question. He turned back to his dad and putting his fingers to his temple said, "I have to tell you all something. Dave contacted me about a month or so ago..." Kurt had to pause at the angry outburst from both Finn and Burt who had risen to their feet.

"When was this?"

"What did he say?"

"I'll kick his ass!"

"I thought your number was unlisted?"

Kurt calmly waited until they had both stopped speaking before he continued, "Like I said, it was a little over a month ago. During McKinely's alcohol awareness week. Dave got suspended for getting caught drunk at school. I'm pretty sure he got my number off of Facebook. Or it might still be written in the 2nd floor boys bathroom under the slogan _for a good time call._ But I'm pretty sure the janitor got rid of that."

Burt was, walking back and forth arms crossed, "So, what happened?"

_A lot. _For the sake of brevity Kurt kept it short."He apologized."

Finn looked dubious, "And you believed him?"

Kurt couldn't keep his bitch face from coming out as he settled his eyes on his step-brother, "Yes, Finn. I believe him. He had no reason to call me. He had nothing to gain from it. Not to mention he said it was your idea in the first place."

Finn shrank away under the look Burt was giving him. "Yeah, I might have suggested that Karofsky apologize to Kurt. But that was a long time ago. After the Championship game. I wanted us to go together, so I would be there. But he blew me off. I thought..." Finn trailed off as the 'to many difficult thoughts' look came back to his face.

Burt stood in front of Kurt, not so upset but arms still folded, "While I do appreciate that this boy apologized to you Kurt I don't know if you can take one phone call as proof positive that someone like that has changed."

"I know that dad. But..." Kurt paused, "But there are other reasons why I believe him."

Burt put his palms up and said, "And those would be?"

"Just from the things he said...and that…I met him for dinner two days later and he returned the cake topper he stole from me. And as you can see I'm totally fine."

"You met with him? The kid that threatened to kill you? And you didn't tell any of us? Kurt, what were you thinking? Do you know what could have happened to you?"

"Nothing was going to happen to me..."

"Kurt you don't know that! You want to believe in the good in people. And that's great but sometimes some people can't be helped."

Kurt didn't want to fight with his dad. He didn't want Burt upset but Kurt couldn't stop the words, "He's getting help now! He's working on his issues. He's come a long ways since we started..." Kurt stopped speaking, eyes wide as he looked up at his dad.

Burt's voice was dangerously low, "Since you started what?" Kurt watched his dad's thought process and knew what was coming. "Started talking…..Started seeing each other?"

Finn made a weird noise as Kurt's face went red with embarrassment and anger. He hadn't wanted to out Dave to his father, Carol and especially not to Finn. But he didn't want to lie to his father either. Kurt balled his hands into fists and tried to think. He turned pleading eyes over t Carol but she sat in her chair a look of worry in her face. "Go on honey."

Kurt took another deep breath. "Dave and I aren't seeing each other. That's ridiculous. He just really needed someone to talk to. And that's what we've been doing. Talking!"

"I understand that sometimes people reach out Kurt. But why didn't you tell me about this? You had to think that something about what you were doing was wrong if you didn't want to tell me."

"No, Dad. I just...it was Dave's personal stuff and I didn't think it was my place to share it. Even with you."

Carol stood up and walked over to Burt, rubbing his arm trying to relax the situation. "I think that your father and I are just worried about your safety Kurt."

Burt shook his head, "I thought you were smarter than this Kurt. Bad people can take advantage of people like...people like you."

"Gay people?" Kurt said dryly.

"Young. Inexperienced. Too willing to help someone out that says they need it."

"Dad. Dave isn't trying to get me alone to do something bad to me. I've met with him and he was so nervous he could barely hand me money for dinner!" _Except for that one brief moment where Dave had taken Kurt's hand._ "He has been nothing but respectful of my personal space. And before it's brought up, I'm not looking for a pet project to feel needed or wanted. I already have a boyfriend that does that very well!" He hadn't told anyone except Rachel and Mercedes about him and Blaine going public yet. And of all the ways he had wanted to break it to his father this had not been one of them...

From there things had deteriorated rather quickly. Burt asking what else Kurt had decided that his father hadn't needed to know about? When Finn took Burt's side things really started heating up. Kurt knew what he was doing! Kurt had handled everything; everyone else was coming in at the end of the show. Why couldn't they just see that? Carol did her best to diffuse the whole ordeal. When she finally had had enough she sent Finn to his room. Kurt followed quickly after; deciding that he had been yelled at enough...And had been there ever since.

_**CURRENT TIME**_

Kurt loved his dad, and what killed him was that he understood exactly why his dad was upset. Kurt knew he should have been more upfront about everything. But Kurt knew that what passed between him and Dave was very personal stuff. Stuff that Kurt knew Dave wouldn't want him to talk about with other people. _Sometimes having the most wonderful, caring dad on the planet really sucks._ But even as Kurt thought the words he knew he would have wanted anyone different.

Kurt heard the message noise and looked down at his phone, he had 2 texts from Blaine and 1 from Dave. _How long had those been there? _He clicked them...

BLAINE: hey babe! 3 So I think I finally have the clothes problem thing worked out. You were so right about the olive sweater...

BLAINE: oh! Almost forgot! :* - That's a kiss for you btw! Call me later.

Kurt couldn't keep the cute-happy-giddy-grin off his face. Blaine had said he wasn't good at romance, which, Kurt was finding out was a total lie. Kurt had decided that his boyfriend probably had pixie-sticks for blood since Blaine was so sweet. He let out a little contented sigh as he clicked on the next message.

DAVE: Yo, So Im joinin glee. C U nxt Mon.

Kurt could feel that his mouth was hanging open at, what was probably, a very unflattering angel. Kurt reread the message just to be sure he'd read it right. Dave Karofsky was joining Glee club? Kurt knew Dave could sing and had moves but whenever they had talked about it Dave had flat out refused to try out. Well what Dave had really said was, _"I don't want to try out for a group of people that hate my guts and who think I'm a fuck-tard homophobe."_ And honestly Kurt couldn't blame him. Kurt wondered if Dave had finally decided on it because Kurt was coming back. Maybe that was all Dave had needed? Knowing that he'd have someone there that didn't despise him. Kurt wanted to text back but stopped when he heard the knock on his door.

"Come in." Kurt said putting the phone down.

Burt poked his head in, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Kurt turned to face his father, "Of course."

Burt closed the door behind him, "Look Kurt. I'm sorry about getting so upset. I just...I love you and I worry. Because I know how caring you are. Just like your mom. She could never stop from helping someone who she felt reached out to her either. It was one of her many amazing qualities. I just don't want you to get hurt. It's a father thing."

Kurt nodded and standing up said, "I know. I love you too dad. I should've told you about the call and the dinner. I'm really sorry I didn't. I want you to trust me. So I'm sorry for making you worry." He reached out and Burt brought Kurt to him in a hug.

Once they pulled away Burt said, "I do trust you Kurt. I know you have a good head on your shoulders."

Burt turned to leave but stopped as he opened the door, "So, Blaine is your boyfriend now?"

Kurt shifted a bit, "Yes dad."

"Okay. He seems like an okay kid. But you invite him over for dinner. I want to officially meet him as your boyfriend."

Kurt smiled, "Okay dad. I think I can do that."


	3. Turning Tables

Chapter 3 - Turning Tables

The Sunday before school…

This was Kurt's idea of a perfect Sunday afternoon; reruns of Project Runway with the volume low, warm sunlight drifting through the half closed blinds, and his super hot and totally lovable boyfriend curled up with him on his bed.

Blaine was spending the night so he didn't have to deal with traffic before for his first day of school tomorrow. Burt had been very relaxed about the whole situation; after the obligatory hand shake and a conversation cut short by Kurt's wish to have Blaine to himself all Burt had said was: While they were in Kurt's room Kurt needed to leave his door open a crack. Blaine would be sleeping in the guest room. Dinner would be a seven.

Blaine's fingers were tracing lazy patterns across Kurt's arm, it was absolute bliss… _So, why am I so damn distracted? _

Kurt was still lost in his thoughts when Blaine stopped moving his hand and squeezed Kurt's arm, "Hey, are you going to tell me what's bothering you? Or do you want me to pretend that I haven't noticed how distracted you are?"

Kurt rolled over on the bed so he could be face to face with Blaine. "The timing on that question was eerie. Do I have some kind of neon sign on my forehead?"

"No, I like you too much not to notice when something is bothering you." Kurt moved first followed by Blaine, both boys readjusting to look at each other. Blaine reached a hand out and gently pushed a stray hair behind one of Kurt's ears and gently kissed his forehead. "So what's up?"

Kurt closed his eyes and sighed. He wanted to be here with Blaine, not lost in complicated thoughts about school tomorrow or about Dave Karofsky in particular. But Kurt couldn't get Dave out of his mind. The main issue was that Kurt wasn't worrying about Dave but was worrying _for _Dave. Kurt was genuinely worried about Dave's well being and even about his happiness. Which was very strange. Or at least it should feel strange. Right? Kurt had come to this realization when he had tried to talk Dave out of joining Glee club. Kurt didn't want Dave to put too much stress on himself. Dave had said that singing and dancing in glee club had made him happier. Kurt had reminded him about the hockey-player slushy incident (Finn had told him). Dave had told Kurt to stop trying to talk him out of it. Kurt had said to think about what the rest of school could be like for him if he joined. Finally it had actually become a fight, which had ended with Dave hanging up on Kurt. What had bothered Kurt the most was that Dave hadn't yelled, hadn't called him any names...nothing, he'd just hung up, and hadn't answered any of Kurt's texts or messages since… that had been two days ago.

Kurt had only been trying to help. He hadn't wanted Dave to feel pressured to change all his normal school habits, just the ones that involved physically or emotionally bullying Kurt and his friends. Kurt been agonizing over Dave and their conversation ever since.

Kurt scooted closer and pulled Blaine to him, hugging the other boy. "I think I messed up."

"What do you mean?" Blaine asked, returning Kurt's hug.

"Do you remember Dave Karofsky?"

"Of course."

Kurt told Blaine the whole story. He hadn't meant to say everything but once he'd started talking about it he hadn't been able to stop. Every detail came pouring out, as Blaine cuddled Kurt closer and rested his chin on the top of Kurt's head. Blaine had been such a good listener. He had only made small encouraging noises when Kurt had lost steam a few times but he had made no other moves or sounds, he had just held Kurt and listened. After Kurt finished talking he pulled away a little so he could look at Blaine again. "Are you mad?"

Blaine gave Kurt and incredulous look, "Why would I be mad?"

"Because I didn't tell you about Dave earlier."

Blaine chuckled, "No Kurt, I'm not mad. We're friends right? I mean, we're boyfriends too now but just because I get to touch you and kiss you now doesn't mean that we aren't still friends like we've always been." Kurt nodded as Blaine brought his forehead down to Kurt's, "I want you to feel like you can tell me anything because we are friends, not that you _should_ tell me _everything_ because we're boyfriends. I am probably going to worry about you. Because, well, because I am and also I think it's somewhere in the good boyfriend handbook. But I've got your back. You know Dave and this situation better than I do."

Kurt took a moment to just bask in the happy glow that Blaine's words managed to fill him with. They were friends, had been friends, Blaine was the most amazing support system anyone could ask for. Kurt smiled to himself wondering if it was tiring for Blaine to be so damn perfect lately. Maybe Blaine looked up and memorized motivational speeches hoping Kurt's problems would fit them. Suddenly Kurt could hear Dave's voice telling him how Dave usually had to practice before speaking to Kurt. Kurt squeezed his eyes shut trying to push the thought away, "I still don't know what I should do though. "

Blaine watched the emotions play over his boyfriends face, "You're really worried about him aren't you?"

"Yes. He's been making such progress…"

Blaine frowned, biting at his lower lip as he wondered what to say to Kurt. Blaine knew giving advice was the easy part, but giving the right advice… that was harder. He wasn't upset that Kurt hadn't told him about all this earlier. Obviously Kurt had his reasons and so far it seemed as if he had been doing a pretty good job helping out a guy that Blaine had honestly thought was probably a lost cause. Blaine thought very carefully about what he was about to say, "Have you thought about apologizing to him?"

Kurt pulled away a little, "What?"

Blaine lifted his hands in a small defensive gesture, "Well, obviously something you said upset him enough to make him stop talking to you. And from what you've been saying you and his psychiatrist are the only people he is talking to at the moment. Maybe it would be a good idea to apologize?"

"But I was trying to help! Are you saying that what I said about Dave not joining Glee club was wrong?" Kurt was trying not to get defensive but he knew he was failing. He flipped onto his back and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hey, hey." Blaine said lifting himself up so he could look at Kurt's face, "I'm just making a suggestion. Don't get all mad at me."

Kurt made small noise through his nose, sliding his eyes sideways, away from Blaine. "I'm not mad at you."

"Oh really?"

"Nope."

"Then you won't mind if I do this…." Blaine leaned down and kissed Kurt, gently pressing his lips to the other boys. Blaine pulled away just far enough to say, "Sorry. You make really cute angry face. Still mad?"

Kurt tried to keep the smile off his face but couldn't hold it in. He smiled up at the golden eyed boy above him and said, "I might still be. You should kiss me again just to make sure I'm not."

Blaine grinned and leaned back down for another kiss…

"Whoa! Oh! God! Sorry, I should have knocked!"

Blaine and Kurt turned surprised faces over to the door where Finn was standing, eyes covered by his hands.

"Finn! What are you doing in here?" Kurt exclaimed, his face now an amazing shade of red. _How embarrassing!_

Blaine tried not to laugh as he rolled off of Kurt. "It's safe now. You can look."

Finn peeked quickly through his fingers and lowering his hands shoved them into his pockets. He shuffled his feet for a second before saying, "It's dinner." The words were only halfway out of his mouth before he bolted out of the room one more hurried _Sorry!_ left floating in his wake.

Blaine looked from the open door to Kurt's bright red face and throwing his hands up over his own slightly red one started laughing. "Oh wow."

Kurt's laugh joined in after a moment.

Finn had had a hard time looking at either Blaine or Kurt during the first part of dinner. But as the meal went on Blaine, Burt and Finn had bonded over a mutual love of football and other sports talk. Kurt had been able to watch all three men and just marvel at how comfortable everything was. Carol had taken his hand under the table and given him significant and approving looks. Better than he ever could have hoped for.

Blaine hadn't brought the subject of Dave back up until almost the end of the night. As the boys were saying goodnight he said, "Look Kurt. About Dave. Let's see what happens tomorrow. Maybe everything will be alright."

"I hope so. I just wish we'd been able to talk before then. I mean I'm not even sure how to act towards him at school. It's just all so complicated." he let out an exasperated sigh.

"I believe in you." Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand and let it go, "Now go to bed before I keep you here all night."

Kurt took a step back from Blaine and smiling said, "I'm leaving. But, only because I don't want my father to kill you on your first day. See you in the morning."

Blaine smiled back,"You know it."

After his skin care routine Kurt lay in his bed thinking. Well, he tossed and turned in his bed thinking. He should have been thinking about his boyfriend who was asleep in the next room. But no, he was completely absorbed in thoughts of a certain gay jock he just happened to know. _Damnit Dave! Why won't you just let me sleep? _Terrified of him first, now terrified for him, Kurt just couldn't win. When sleep finally did find Kurt it didn't help, his dreams were apparently against him as well, since Dave Karofsky was there too.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Monday morning.

Dave had slept like shit for the last three days. Ever since Kurt had tried to talk him out of joining Glee club.

Dave had expected Kurt to be happy that he wanted to try out. But instead all he'd gotten was a lecture about Dave's social status and what joining Glee might mean for Dave at McKinely. Finally Dave had had to hang up. He knew that if he had stayed on the phone with Kurt he would have gotten too angry, and then he would have probably said something he would regret. Dave had wanted to respond to Kurt's texts, wanted to answer when he called but he was too scared of getting angry, of losing his temper and fucking things up. Kurt had this ability to see into him. He could cut right through all the bullshit Dave would build up around himself, and Hummel could just destroy it, with a look or with a few well placed words. This talent made him an indispensable friend but sometimes also triggered his anger. Dave knew that he had made progress and a lot of that progress was due to Kurt's friendship and forgiveness. When Dave had told Dr. Shane, his psychiatrist, he'd been very supportive. _"It's good to have friends that can understand and support you David. Especially ones that aren't afraid to tell you the truth. Even when it's hard to hear." _And honestly Kurt knew him better than anybody, had seen him at his worst, taken the brunt of his anger and now had made Dave believe that he could be something better._ So then why didn't Kurt understand this? I'm doing everything I can! Of course I know what will happen to me if I joined Glee club. I'm not stupid. _Dave took a bite of toast and tried to chew. It tasted like saw dust. He swallowed painfully and left the rest on his plate untouched. He wasn't hungry anyway.

Dave glanced at the clock and figured it was close enough to head out. "Hey Mom! I'm off!"

Mrs. Karofsky was a pretty, slender woman with curly brown hair. She came around the hallway to the front door and gave Dave a hug, Dave returned the hug half-heartedly. "Okay honey. But no more calls from the Principal, alright?"

"I promise."

Mrs. Karofsky pulled at the collar of his shirt, fixing it, "No letterman jacket today?"

Dave looked down at his clothes; he hadn't even realized that he hadn't put his jacket on this morning. But now thinking about it he knew why. But he wasn't about to say anything about Kurt Hummel to his mother. No way.

Dave shrugged, "Naw, not today."

Dave could see the worry in his mother's face. But there was nothing he could do about it right now. Both her and his father had been looking at him like he was going to explode, or shatter, at any moment for the last month. _They weren't too far off._ He thought. Dave wanted to talk to them, to tell them what was going on with him…but, there was no way, no way they would understand. Not that they were ever overt about disliking "those types of people" but Dave remembered a few conversations about gay marriage that had ended with his dad saying that "he didn't mind what people with alternate lifestyle choices chose to do so long as they didn't try and rub it in everyone else faces." Dave had remembered saying something along those lines to wheel chair kid and Mike in the locker rooms. After that he'd listened closer and realized most of the things (except for the word homo) he'd either quoted or paraphrased from his parents. It had made Dave go cold inside, since he figured that him coming out would very much fall into the " in his parents faces" column. But he loved them, they were good parents they just couldn't know yet. Not until Dave figured out a better way to tell them. Kurt had been trying to help him come up with a plan, but Fanc..Kurt had had it much easier than Dave knew he was going to.

Dave gave his mom another hug, wrapping his arms around her and saying, "I love you mom."

"I love you too Davey."

Dave let go and turned quickly so he wouldn't have to see the concern he knew was still there. If he could just get a handle on things he knew he could deal everything.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kurt's first day back was going rather swimmingly. It had taken him no time at all before he was back into the swing of things. Almost like he had never left... Except that there had been a certain amount of fangirlish screaming and hugging between him, Rachel, Tina and Mercedes when they had met in the parking lot in the morning. Classes had been a cake walk. But between every class he'd been looking for a familiar set of wide shoulders in a worn letterman jacket...But Kurt hadn't seen Dave all day. _Maybe he's sick..._ Kurt didn't believe that, not for a second. The bell rang for lunch as he walked back towards his locker where he said he would meet the girls and Blaine, who they had been petting and shuttling around since he walked into the building. Kurt had barely been able to have a moment with Blaine since the start of the day. He caught a glimpse of Tina and Mercedes laughing with Blaine. Tina ruffled her hand in his curly hair playfully and Kurt rolled his eyes. _For the love of Gaga he's a man not a puppy!_ Kurt had to laugh at himself then, was he being jealous boyfriend or what?

Kurt had almost made it over when a large hand landed on his shoulder. Kurt jumped and spun around, coming face to (well, chin) with Dave Karofsky. He couldn't help that his heart had jumped into his throat, the touch had caught him by surprise... and brought up a lot of bad memories, he pushed those thoughts away. Kurt put a hand against his heart, willing it to calm down, and looked up at Dave, trying to steady his breathing. Dave spoke first, "Can we talk for a sec?"

Kurt looked around and seeing an empty class room inclined his head towards it, lifted his eyebrows in a silent question. Dave didn't nod, he just followed Kurt's eyes and headed for the room. Just before Kurt walked inside he caught Blaine's eyes on him. Blaine gave him a smile, a nod and mouthed, _good luck. _Kurt returned the smile and closed the door as Blaine led the girls away, most likely toward the cafeteria.

Dave hadn't been trying to avoid Kurt. That's what he'd told himself anyway. He just hadn't wanted to see the slender boy without knowing what he wanted to say first. It had taken him the first half of the day to figure it out. Now he had the chance. Dave leaned up against the wall next to the door, where people in the hall wouldn't be able to see him. He hoped Kurt didn't realize that though... Kurt strolled in after and then passed him, that little hip wiggle that he did making Dave notice how nice those pants fit Kurt. _Focus Dave. Stop eye-fucking Hummel...Kurt. _Dave closed his eyes and put his hands in his front pockets. When he opened them again Kurt was standing in the middle of the room facing him, hip cocked to one side, hand on said hip.

Kurt bit the inside of his lower lip for a moment before saying, "So, how've you been?"

Dave opened his mouth and when nothing came out, he coughed and tried again, "All right I guess."

Kurt lifted one, very skeptical eyebrow, "Really?"

Dave shrugged and looked down at his feet. "No, not really. The last three days sucked."

Kurt took a few steps closer, "I'm sorry."

Dave lifted his head from where they had been staring at his shoes, "About?'

Kurt took another step, now there was only an arms length between them, "I'm really sorry about the other day. I could have been a bit more supportive."

Dave would've stepped back but he was up against the wall, so there was nowhere to go. He licked his lips nervously as he searched Kurt's face, "Yeah, well I'm sorry too. I shouldn't've hung up on you." Kurt edged towards Dave a little bit more, and with no avenue of escape Dave decided to just look over Kurt's head, looking very intently at a random motivational poster in the class room. It had penguins diving off of it with the word COURAGE under it. That was it. Dave decided then that the world really was out to get him. He sighed and looked back down at Kurt, who was now very much in his personal bubble. "Dude, what are you doing?" He refused to acknowledge the audible tremble in it.

Kurt stopped, what was he doing? Hadn't he started this conversation across the room from Dave? Why was he invading Dave's space? Kurt stepped back, "I don't know. It just feels weird. I mean, we been talking for such a long time it seems odd you being in the same room as me for real and being halfway across it."

Dave rolled his shoulders trying to relax. "Yeah." Dave sighed and pulled a desk over and sat down. He gestured for Kurt to do the same. "Better?"

"A little I guess." Kurt pursed his lips, this meeting might actually be more awkward than Dave's apology, "So, what do we do now? Are you still trying out for Glee?"

Dave let out a grunt, "Not if you don't want me there."

"Where ever did you get that idea?" Kurt asked.

"Call me crazy, but I got that impression from the last time we talked."

Kurt closed his eyes and rubbed at them, "It's not a matter of me not wanting you to try out. I was trying to say this last time. I am worried about you! That's all."

_That's all. Right. _"I have a shrink that does that worrying for me. I don't need you to do it too."

"I kind of can't help it." It was true, Kurt couldn't help worrying about Dave. About what high school would be like for him if he came out...what his life would end up like for him psychologically if he never did... It was such a razor's edge to walk, even for the most stable of people.

Suddenly there was a large hand on Kurt's desk, palm up, Kurt looked up and seeing Dave reaching out Kurt slowly put his hand in the jocks offered one.

Dave hadn't let himself think about what he was doing. He wanted to say thank you. Wanted Kurt to know what it meant to him. But he couldn't find the words that wouldn't sound stupid or cliche. So he'd stretched out his hand, he'd been terrified that Kurt wouldn't understand. But then Kurt had slipped his hand into Dave's.

Dave wrapped his hand around the soft, thin fingers of Kurt's. He could feel the faintest beat of Kurt's heart in his hand. Dave didn't look down at their hands, even though he wanted to, instead he watched the questions in Kurt's face, as they moved across the pale boy's brow pulling it down ever so slightly. Dave continued to hold Kurt's hand as he began to speak, "I'm still working out how to make being the better me work out here at school. I don't think I'm ready for everyone to know that... well to know stuff about me. But I'm trying to work it out."

"I understand. You know I'm here for you." Holding hands with Dave seemed to be on its way to becoming a habit. It was nice, just being able to touch another person like that. Something that Kurt had always enjoyed doing... Hell, he'd sang a song about it. Although he knew Dave didn't understand the significance he found it comforting. He hoped Dave did too.

Dave finally let himself look down at their hands. His hand looking large and clumsy around Kurt's delicate one. He pulled his hand away, letting his fingers slide against thin skin on the back of Kurt's hand. He let out a deep breath and slowly clenched and unclenched his hands. _See? There, no problem. Easy to let go. Yeah, Right._

When Dave moved his hand away Kurt felt oddly sad at the lack of contact. Like something much more had been lost. A door closed or that someone had turned down the volume. But he shook it off.

"I know that. And about the Glee club thing...Figgins actually made it a part of me coming back to school. He said that I was better for that week in Glee and that I had to do it after I came off of suspension until the end of the year."

"Why didn't you just tell me that?"

"Because I didn't want you to think that I didn't want to be in glee. I do, I just wasn't really given a choice either. Which in some ways makes this easier I guess. People won't talk as much...maybe."

Kurt's face softened, "Wanna eat lunch with us? You can tell everyone that Figgin's made you if you want."

Dave thought about it but then shook his head slowly, "Not today man. I'm not there yet."

Kurt's face fell a little as he turned to leave, "Okay," he paused, his hand on the door, "How about coffee after school with me and Blaine?"

"Not if he's going to try and out me again."

Kurt laughed, "I think we can skip that part this time."

"Does he know? I mean what does he know?"

Kurt hadn't wanted to have to answer that question, he sighed heavily, "Yes. He knows, just about everything..."

Dave tried to keep his voice very level when he asked the next question, "And he's your boyfriend now?"

Kurt's spine straightened a bit, "Yes."

"Cool." Dave shut his eyes, _Stupid! Stupid! _

Kurt over looked it though, "Okay, so I need to go to lunch before the girls form a search party."

"Yeah, right, sure. I guess I'll see you after school then."

"Okay."

Dave sat in the class room for a long time after Kurt left. He told himself that it wasn't because he was worried about people seeing him leaving a room with Kurt. But he wasn't sure anymore. Why had he said he'd have coffee with Kurt and Eyebrows? God, he was such a masochist.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"One medium drip!"

"Thank you." Kurt picked up the coffee and handed it over to Blaine.

They walked over to a table surrounded by stuffed sofa chairs, "Do you think he'll actually show up?" Blaine said looking around. Kurt was about to answer when he saw Dave walk into the coffee shop. Kurt smiled and gave a little wave. Dave just bobbed his head up in greeting. "Well I guess that answers that question then."

Dave's shoulders were hunched forward as he shuffled over to where Blaine and Kurt were sitting.

"Are you just going to loom over us like that?" Kurt asked playfully. They joked like this on the phone all the time but Dave just shook his head and sat down across from both of the boys without speaking. Kurt frowned.

Blaine looked from the clearly uncomfortable Dave to the equally perplexed Kurt. Sipping his coffee Blaine wondered what he could do to break this extremely tense ice. He reached out towards the bigger boy and said, "Hi, I know we met very briefly a while ago but my name is Blaine."

Dave relaxed a bit and took the offered hand, giving it a strong shake, "Dave." Dave did his best not to try and grip the dark haired boys hand tighter than he needed to. Blaine had a good, firm handshake, not exactly what Dave had been expecting from some private school kid.

Blaine pulled back after a minute and pushed on, "I apologize about the last time we met. I sometimes have great ideas but fail rather epicly in execution. Did Kurt ever tell you about the Great Gap disaster of 2011? Because if not, he should."

Kurt had told Dave that story, he let a smile tug at the corner of his mouth for a moment. "It's cool man. Just don't do it again and we're all good."

"Won't be a problem. I think I remember seeing you play in the Championship game early this year. That was you right?"

Dave nodded, "Yeah, probably. I was there."

"I don't know if Kurt has told you this but I'm kind of a football geek as well..."

Dave glanced over to Kurt who had been quietly watching the other two boys converse, Kurt looked really happy. Dave liked that look on his face, "No, I can't say that he has. Do you like college or pro better?"

"Oh! College ball hands down."

"Yeah, me too. It's so much more pure than all that commercial shit that the pros get into."

"I totally agree!"

And that was how the three of them ended up spending two hours in a coffee shop. Kurt had chimed in every now and then with little snip-its he had picked up from his father, Blaine and Finn. They had been able to joke and laugh and Dave had even relaxed into his chair and seemed to be rather enjoying talking to Blaine. Kurt had always thought of Blaine as sort of the anti-Dave but as he listened to them talk it seemed as thought they had a lot of similar interests. Sports. Cars. Fathers who were lawyers.

Kurt stood up and Dave and Blaine turned to look at him expectantly, "What?" Kurt said, "I'm just going to powder my nose. You boys don't need me in this topic anyway. I thought a college conference was something you took a briefcase to."

Once Kurt was gone a small silence fell between Blaine and Dave. Dave watched the way Blaine looked at Kurt. He had tried to ignore the fact that Blaine and Kurt had been holding hands on and off for half of the time. But Kurt just seemed so damn happy. It hurt to see Kurt that happy, but not in a bad way. It was hard for Dave to think about the way it made him feel...

Blaine let out a light cough, drawing the bigger boys attention back, "Look, I know you have no history with me. And no reason to trust or even like me, but if you ever need someone to talk to you. Or help you with anything...like your parents. I'd be more than honored."

Dave was taken aback, "Why would you want to help me?"

"Because you're important to Kurt. And I really do sympathize with your situation. Like I said the first time we met; you just need to know you're not alone."

Dave ran a hand over his face, "You know I really wanted to hate you. I was ready to hate you. But you've made it kinda difficult."

Blaine's golden eyes flashed with amusement, "Sorry to throw a monkey wrench into your plans."

"It's cool dude. Just know something," Dave leaned in, over the table and gestured for Blaine to lean in as well, "If you hurt him I will break every bone in your body."

Blaine looked Dave straight in the eyes, their faces very close. Dave wasn't sure what Blaine had been looking for but the boy seemed to find it when he nodded once and said, "Duly noted. Same goes for you."

The idea of someone as small as Blaine threatening him should have made Dave laugh with derision. But again there was something in those brown eyes that gave the statement a weight and a reality. Dave liked Blaine. He was an alright guy. Dave smiled and reached his hand out in offering. Blaine took it and returned the handshake and a smile of his own.

Kurt skipped back over as the boys let go of each other and settled back down into their seats. "So, what are you two talking about now?"

Blaine looked at Dave then taking Kurt's hand said, "Just talking about rules and penalties."

Dave quirked an eyebrow at Blaine then gave the barest of nods, "Yep. I think we got it."


	4. Right As Rain

_Thank you for all the alerts, adds and the reviews! You guys rock! I will be on vacation for a week so here is an extra long chapter... And some spoilers I have in store for the upcoming chapter...A Dave Santana friendship is in the works as well as some fluffy romantic moments between some of our boys. Hope you guys enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 4- Right As Rain

_ ~Who wants to be riding high when you'll just crumble back on down. You give up everything you are and even then you don't get far. They make believe that everything is exactly what it seems. But at least when you're at your worst, you'll know how to feel things.~_

**Thursday after school.**

It had been over a week since the start of school and Dave had managed to keep his shit together so far. The football black-lash of him joining Glee hadn't been so bad either... All the guys seemed more sympathetic at Dave being "forced" into it than anything else.

Glee itself was a bit harder. It was painfully obvious from the very start that most of the glee kids would have rather run him over with a truck than let him join. On the first day he'd shown up it had been utter insanity. Puck, Rachel and Mercedes were the first to get up in his face followed by Sam and Artie. He hadn't yelled back at them. He hadn't done anything except stand there and take the abuse.

After a minute or so of belligerent yelling chaos Kurt had stood up from where he had been sitting next to Blaine and yelled, "Oh please! If I can handle being in the same room as Karofsky the rest of you can too."

"Thanks Fancy."

"Shut it 'Fury' and take a seat before I change my mind and let Puck eviscerate you!"

Dave thought for sure that Blaine or Finn were going to blow their little staged scene. Hell, Dave had almost smiled, Kurt was just too good at being bitchy. But amazingly all four boys had managed to keep their cool. Adding Mr. Shue's timely arrival explaining that the club had to take him as a part of him coming back to school and that he had apologized to Kurt things seemed to relax a little. The first day had still been tense. And the second one hadn't been much better. So far Dave had managed to dodge actually singing. But Mr. Shue had finally given him a dead line, he would have to sing the following Friday. Dave had not been looking forward to his "audition." But the knowledge that at least Kurt, Blaine and maybe Finn were on his side had given him the confidence to shake off the others. And ask for a little bit of help... _Maybe I can really do this... _

It was the day before he had to do his first song in Glee club and he wanted to blow off some steam. He thought about calling Kurt..._No, he'll just grill me about what song I'm going to sing. _He even had a fleeting thought about calling Blaine, Blaine liked Madden, but eventually Dave discarded that idea as well. He knew Blaine lived a good hour drive away and while Blaine, Finn and Sam had been helping Dave with his song they had mostly been using skype to coordinate things. If he called Blaine to come over now then he would almost certainly have to deal with Kurt as well. And Dave wanted to keep his song choice a secret for as long as he could. Dave had made the others (and especially Blaine) swear not to say anything. It hadn't been easy. Kurt had been downright annoying all week, hounding Dave about it at every opportunity. Not that it really bothered Dave. He thought it was kinda funny and nice and maybe, maybe-a-little-tiny-bit (although he'd die before admitting it) cute, how badly Kurt wanted to help him with his song. But he just wasn't in the mood for it this afternoon. He needed something simple and spending time with Kurt Hummel was anything but.

He'd finally called up Azimio to come hang out and play video games for awhile. Azimio had sounded a bit surprised but happily accepted the offer. Dave felt guilty, he and Azimio had been close since elementary school but he hadn't really spent any time with the guy for a while. They still talked on Xbox live and at school and stuff but Dave knew he'd been acting different around his football friends. So this was a two birds one stone deal; have a nice uncomplicated afternoon and reconnect with his buddy. Dave could always blame him acting strange on his parents or on the suspension or something. He could deflect questions, he was getting rather good at it. _Practice makes perfect._

The afternoon had gone well, they'd joked around and blown stuff up and just shot the shit. Normal stuff...

Well it was nice and normal until Azimio stopped the game and turned to Dave, "So man did I piss in your Wheaties or something'?"

Dave gave the other boy a confused look, "What' re you talkin' about?"

Apparently Azimio had just been waiting for the opportunity to talk about this because he launched in before Dave had finished, "You've been acting weird since you almost got expelled by Hummel back in Fall. And you've been acting _fuckin_' weird since you came back from your suspension. "

Dave prayed that Az hadn't seen him flinch when he'd heard Kurt's name. "Oh yeah? Well, you know...my parents and shit. It's been kinda tough here for me."

Azimio put down his controller. "Come on man. What the hell? Why are you freezing me out? We've been friends since pee-wee football in 2nd grade. It's messed up."

Since the deflecting hadn't worked Dave slipped into defensiveness. "Whatever man. If you don't like the answer too bad. I don't want to talk about it."

Azimio stood up. Squaring up against Dave, who also stood, "Dude, you haven't wanted to talk about shit this whole damn year!"

_Shit. He wasn't backing down. Shit. _Dave's voice dropped, going lower, adding a hint of anger, "Az, back off."

But Az wasn't afraid of Dave. Never had been. They had spent too much time making other people afraid of them. The two of them had always been the biggest/ strongest kids in whatever grade they were in. Azimio knew the danger signs and he didn't give a shit. Az wanted to piss Dave off. He knew how to deal with angry Dave. Not this 'new' Dave. "No! You know what man? Fuck you!"

Dave closed his eyes. _One._

"What? You closing your eyes? Can't even look at your best friend anymore?"

_Two._

"Dude! Stop it! Get mad! This quiet, calm shit is just fucking creepy!"

_Three. _Dave's hands balled into fists.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You barely talk anymore! You haven't slushied anyone, haven't done anything to anyone in months!"

_Four._

"Okay! You know what? You wanna go be emo and cry in a corner by yourself then I guess it's none of my business!"

_Five. _If Dave could just get to ten he knew he would be okay...

"Maybe Homo Explosion is a good place for you!"

_S...i...x... _

Even with everything that had just been said it might have been alright if Azimio hadn't added under his breath, "Gay ass bitch."

Dave snapped. His fingers dug into Az's sweatshirt and Dave hauled the boy towards him; shaking him as he finally yelled back, "Fine! You wanna know what's up with me? I found out I'm a fucking fag! A total fucking queer! You got a problem with that? 'Cuz this 'gay-ass-bitch' is going to kick your goddamn teeth in if you do! "

"Get the fuck off me!" Azimio yelled back shoving Dave off. Dave allowed himself to be moved and he stumbled backwards, finally stopping when his legs hit his bed. The two football players looked at each other for a long time across the room, both breathing heavily.

Dave's eyes were wide and scared once he realized what he had just said. _Oh shit, oh fuck, oh shit! _Azimio was staring at him out of the corner of his eyes. Not looking at him directly. The only noises were their labored breathing and the soft electric buzz of the TV…

"Dude…really?"

The words were said so low Dave almost didn't catch them. He sank down onto his bed and hung his head down. _It was all over now. _"Yeah."

Az didn't move, "How long have you…when did you…oh shit."

Dave thought about his answer for a bit before speaking, "For a while. But really this year."

Dave watched Az's reaction. His friend since childhood moved across the room, putting more distance between them. _Can't really blame him._ Leaning up against Dave's desk Az started nodding his head very slowly like he was working through some things in his mind. _Probably thinking about where to find the angry villagers and pitch-forks on such short notice. _"Okay. That makes some sense."

Dave's brows shot up. "Umm, what makes sense?"

Az looked up at Dave for the first time. "Dude, I've known you for-like-fucking-ever. When all that shit went down with Hummel…you really zeroed in on him. And then how you went after Hudson... It wasn't like how we used to messed around with the other losers or glee nerds…It seemed like personal and shit."

Dave couldn't have been more surprised if an alien had burst out of Az's chest right then. He had no idea what to say. So he fell back on what had always been comfortable between him and his friend before, "Az, you really aren't as dumb as you look."

Az flashed him a look. "Fuck you man! And double fuck you for not telling me all this crap earlier."

Dave let out an exasperated groan, dragging his fingers through his hair. He hadn't thought about having to deal with Azimio's hurt feelings. "I thought you would hate me." _I thought you and the guys would kill me._ "I mean I fucking hated me."

"You really are a stupid mother fucker sometimes. I don't hate you. I mean… I don't get it. And no, I'm not totally okay with it cuz I've been naked in the same room with you a billion times. But yeah. I dunno…Whatever. I'll deal." Az shrugged.

Dave was feeling a little light headed. The entire episode was starting to feel unreal. Was Azimio really okay with this? "Sorry about fucking up your shirt."

Az shrugged again. "Whatever man, doesn't matter. But that better not have been you trying to hit on me in some fucked up way. Cuz that ain't cool."

Dave looked up with absolute disbelief in his eyes. He was about to protest but when he caught sight of the half-smile on Azimio's face he smiled back and started laughing. _Oh, we've already reached the joking part. That was fast. _

Dave put his hands up defensively, "No man! Just no! If it makes you feel any better I don't think you're my type." _How about really, really not. _He was pretty sure that he knew his type...he liked his men pretty, like Kurt. Mostly he just liked Kurt... But and he had to admit Blaine was pretty good looking too. _Oh, what the hell? Where had that come from? _He shoved that thought into the far, far back of his mind. He didn't need to deal with something that complicated right now...

Az, blissfully ignorant of his buddies thoughts, raised his hands in a 'What?' gesture on either side of his body and looked down at himself in mock hurt, "Screw you. I've got hella game." He then pointed a finger at Dave, "But if you show up to school wearing a sequined ball gown or a Lady Gaga costume I'm disowning you. We straight?"

Dave was still chuckling at the idea of him in sequins. "No. But, you are."

Azimio rolled his eyes at the lame joke and sat back down in the computer chair, picking up his dropped controller, "Shut up and help me kill this guy. Unless your limp wrist can't use a controller anymore."

Dave picked up his controller and waded into the blood and guts. _Azimio is cool with it. Huh? _Dave spoke quickly, "Can you not tell anybody?"

"Damn, I was planning on making flyers and giving them out at school tomorrow. I have these cute little glitter stickers I've been dying to use."

"Okay, dude, that's just abusing sarcasm."

Az let out a deep sigh, his shoulders hunching over as he breathed out. "I'm not going to tell anyone. Does anybody else know?"

"My shrink. You. Hummel and Hummel's boyfriend."

"Oh-man-what-the-hell? At least I knew before your parents. But I'm still pissed off you didn't tell me before Hummel and his boyfriend Frodo. Jack-ass."

Well, it would have been hard for Dave to tell Azimio before Kurt... A part of Dave hadn't even known before Kurt... But Dave didn't think Az was ready for Dave to talk about mackin' on a another guy. And Dave sure as hell wasn't ready to talk about that either.

They spent the rest of the evening in a relative state of normality. There had been a few times when the silence had been a bit uncomfortable or Azimio had stopped himself halfway through a gay joke. And the uncomfortable 'can we still hug each other goodbye?' moment... But for the most part it wasn't too different than before. And after exchanging the typical 'bro-hug' Dave wondered seriously for the first time if he could actually come out not just to his parents but to everyone…

**Friday afternoon**

Well, this was it. Moment of truth. _They are going to eat me alive._ Dave's hands were damp with sweat and nerves, he quickly whipped them off on his pants. He'd sung in front of the Glee club before. Kurt had seen him dance he reminded himself. He'd been at the football game. But there was a world of difference between Kurt sitting in some stands watching someone that might be Dave dance and Dave actually standing up in front of a group of people (most of who didn't like him) and singing by himself. He splashed water in his face and looked up at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. _Oh God, I can't do this. I can't sing in front of Kurt._ Because that was the real issue.

It was this moment that Blaine decided to walk into the bathroom. "You ready?"

_No! Fuck off Eyebrows! _"Yeah, whatever. No problem."

Blaine came to stand next to him, looking at him through the mirror. "You seem really nervous. You're going to do just fine."

Dave watched as Blaine tentatively lifted a hand and patted him on the back. "If this is you trying to be reassuring I need you to know that you suck at it."

Blaine grinned, "Come on. They'll be waiting. Sam and Finn are already set up in there."

Dave nodded dumbly. After Blaine left he didn't move for another minute or two. Just looking at his reflection. The whole reason he had originally done this was to win over Kurt Hummel. But over the last two weeks he'd watched Kurt and Blaine together. Watched the way they interacted with each other, the way they looked at each other, the way they touched each other... And Blaine had been really kind and helpful to Dave. Had taken the time to help him. Had taken the time to listen to him. Dave groaned, banging his head against the mirror.

Even if there was a way to come between them Dave knew he wouldn't be able to do it. Oh, he was still very much in love with Kurt Hummel. There was no doubt in Dave's mind about that. He'd been sure since before the locker room kiss. He'd known it before he even knew he was gay. And while he was very jealous of the charming, suave and damn likable Blaine Anderson he couldn't be jealous of the happiness that Blaine gave to Kurt. _Blaine is everything Kurt has ever wanted... _

This was his last chance to back out. He could talk to Figgin's, explain how much the Glee kids hated him. He could find a way out... a way out of Glee club and right back into the hell he'd been living for the last two years. And if he did that he knew he would lose that little bit of Kurt he did have. _Do or die Karofsky. You going to man up or what? _

Dave banged his head against the mirror once more before walking out muttering under his breath, "Sonofabitch!"

Dave's first impression of the group in front of him was that it looked like a firing squad. Except Kurt. Kurt gave him a covert thumbs up from the back row. Blaine had a sly smile plastered on his face. Dave's lips twitched in a ghost of a smile. Walking over to Finn and Sam he leaned his head down and said, "Thanks for doing this for me."

When Dave had gone to Finn and Sam he had been sure that he would be shot down. But Finn had agreed to help pretty quickly and Sam had been amazingly cool. He'd only given Dave a bit of shit about the black eye from before but they seemed to be all good now.

Sam gave him a quick nod, "Thanks for asking. I'm happy to help make you less of a dick." Well, if not super friendly yet the relationship was much better than before. Finn didn't speak, he just sat at the drums, waiting. Dave had a suspicion that Finn understood Dave and his motivations better than even he realized. Thankfully Finn wasn't big on exploring those deep thoughts, especially when they had to do with confusing shit like his relationship with Kurt.

"So what are you singing for us Dave?" Mr. Shue asked.

Dave coughed a bit, "_The Cave_ by Mumford and Sons."

There were a few impressed murmurs from the group. Dave was now doubly nervous but was happy to see that Blaine had been right about pulling out his favorite, not top-40, song.

Mr. Shue shushed the group and then gestured to Dave, "Take it away then."

Sam started playing his guitar and Dave knew that Blaine knew when to come in. He beat his hand softly against his thigh to get a feel for the timing, he took a deep breath and started;

_"It's empty in the valley of your heart._

_ The sun, it rises slowly as you walk._

_ Away from all the fears._

_And all the faults you've left behind._

_ The harvest left no food for you to eat._

_ You cannibal, you meat-eater, you see._

_ But I have seen the same._

_ I know the shame in your defeat."_

The glee club looked like they were getting into it. Tina and Mike were keeping time with their feet and everyone else seemed to be at least bobbing their heads to the beat. Dave caught sight of Santana gazing over at Britt. There was something in the look that he recognized but he let it go for the moment.

_ "But I will hold on hope._

_ And I won't let you choke._

_ On the noose around your neck."_

Kurt had been stunned at not only Dave's choice of music but at his voice. _My God! Dave could actually sing...well! _He turned to say something to Blaine only to see his boyfriend getting up carrying a...ukulele? _What?_ Blaine just winked at him when he took his place next to Sam and Dave.

_ "And I'll find strength in pain._

_ And I will change my ways._

_ I'll know my name as it's called again."_

Dave paused. Sam was really really good with a guitar. And when Blaine started in with the ukulele he was pretty sure a few of the girls made weird noises that sounded to Dave like a mix between a dolphin and a dying cat. Dave raised an eyebrow at Blaine who just shrugged in return. Dave didn't understand girls. Never had and probably never would. He was okay with that.

_ "Cause I have other things to fill my time._

_ You take what is yours and I'll take mine._

_ Now let me at the truth._

_ Which will refresh my broken mind._

_So tie me to a post and block my ears._

_ I can see widows and orphans through my tears._

_ I know my call despite my faults._

_ And despite my growing fears."_

Dave knew he only had to look up a little to see Kurt. But Dave didn't look up. He didn't want to see Kurt's face as he sang. Didn't want to see any of the thoughts in those all too sharp blue eyes. It was hard enough for him to be up here at all. So he closed his as he began again...

_ "But I will hold on hope._

_ And I won't let you choke._

_ On the noose around your neck._

_And I'll find strength in pain._

_ And I will change my ways._

_ I'll know my name as it's called again."_

Kurt tilted his head to the side slowly trying to look less floored and more supportive. Not that it would really matter since Dave had closed his eyes to sing. Kurt caught Blaine's eyes and Blaine wiggled his eyebrows, inclining his head towards the singer. Like a silent 'it was all his idea!'

Kurt just gave him a playful glare. Blaine had no idea how much trouble he was in for not telling Kurt that he was helping Dave with his song. Or that he was playing a damn ukulele for the song! It was just down right sneaky. Blaine had listened to Kurt hypothesize for hours about what song Dave would pick. And he hadn't said a word. But Kurt's attention snapped back to Dave as his voice got stronger, more confident as he continued.

_ "So come out of your cave walking on your hands._

_ And see the world hanging upside down._

_ You can understand dependence._

_ When you know the maker's hand._

_So make your siren's call._

_ And sing all you want._

_ I will not hear what you have to say._

_Cause I need freedom now._

_ And I need to know how._

_ To live my life as it's meant to be."_

Dave opened his eyes and was immediately looking at Kurt's. And Kurt smiled at him. Smiled at him from his eyes down to his mouth. Dave had never seen anyone look at him like that. He tried not to stumble on the last two verses but to do so he had to stop looking at Kurt. He peeled his eyes away and fixed them on the floor in front of his feet. But he could still feel Kurt starring at him. Blaine must have heard him struggle for a moment because suddenly he was singing with him. Helping him keep time. Sam and Finn joined in, their voices mixing together for the last chorus.

_ "And I will hold on hope._

_ And I won't let you choke._

_ On the noose around your neck._

_And I'll find strength in pain. _

_ And I will change my ways._

_ I'll know my name as it's called again."_

After the song ended there was a horrible moment of nothing before the glee club erupted into cheers. Mr. Shue stood up and coming over to Dave patted him on the shoulder, like Blaine had before, and said, "Awesome job Dave. Welcome to the New Directions!"

Dave smiled as the rest of the club came to give him their congratulations. He even hugged Sam and Finn. He probably would have hugged Blaine too but the short boy had moved away towards Kurt.

Kurt had stayed where he was and just watched everyone else surround Dave. Watching Dave and Blaine sing together had probably been one of the sexiest things he had ever heard. _Or maybe that was just me? _He wondered. Either way he didn't need to jump up and to show his support. He clapped from his seat, Kurt knew the three of them would have time to talk about everything together later.

Blaine came over to stand in front of him. "So? What did you think?"

"I think you are in such trouble for not telling me about this!"

Blaine leaned down and brushed his lips against Kurt's cheek, "I'll take my punishment gladly. I have no regrets."

**Friday evening**

Dave was riding high, coming out to Azimio, the success of his number this afternoon... He felt awesome for the first time in a long, long time.

He'd even let Kurt and Blaine talk him into going to dinner and seeing a movie with them later that night during French class. All he had asked that it was not a chick-flick and he got to pick the restaurant. Both boys had agreed. Which was why he was pulling into the mall parking lot behind the movie theater.

Kurt was having a wonderful night. He'd had to promise Rachel and Mercedes a Saturday shopping trip for spending so much time with Blaine lately though. The girls had said that they were becoming a 'bubble couple.' He idly wondered what they would say if they knew that Dave was with Blaine and him tonight? He was a little disappointed that Dave still didn't feel comfortable enough to let at least the Glee club know that they were friends now, but the questions that would follow a statement like that would be really hard to answer, at least until Dave finally felt like he could come out... Kurt suppressed a shudder at would happen in McKinely once Rachel Berry and Jacob ben Israel knew Dave's sexual orientation...

The boys were sitting enjoying their burgers, talking about Dave's song. Kurt let out a contented little sigh... his favorite days had to be Fridays and Sundays. Mostly because both of those days meant that Blaine could hang out much later and would usually spend the night. Kurt turned to Blaine, "I hope your parents doing mind you sleeping over so much?"

Blaine dabbed a napkin to his mouth for a moment then picked his burger back up, saying quickly,"My Dad has a very secure 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy in what I do with...with my weekends." He took a sip of his coffee and after thinking about it added, "And I boarded at Dalton so it's possible that he still doesn't realize when I don't come home some nights."

The undertone of bitterness in Blaine's voice had stopped Dave halfway through a bite of burger. He swallowed painfully and then uncomfortably shoved a fry across his plate. He really didn't know much about Blaine. He had just assumed that he had parents like Kurt's. It had never even crossed his mind to ask. Dave understood where that bitterness would come from. He wanted to tell Blaine that but didn't know how to say it.

Dave looked over to Kurt who was obviously still trying to figure out what had just happened. "Hey Fancy..."

They had decided on using nicknames again to help Dave with his anger. It was a new coping mechanism that Dr. Shane had suggested trying out. Kurt was supposed to call him "Fury" when it looked like he was getting too worked up. Dave had rejected the code word "ham hock." Since the name was supposed to be a code word to calm him down not something to upset him more. But Dave had said that the only way he was letting Kurt use a nickname was if he got to use one for Kurt too. They had spent a long time going through what name would be acceptable. Kurt had finally settled on "Fancy" since it was the least offensive of all the things he'd been called.

Dave had been very happy when he realized he got to call Kurt, Fancy again. He hadn't told Kurt that he'd started calling him Fancy because he loved seeing Kurt in all the different outfits he wore. Dave had hated watching Kurt's clothes get ruined by slushy after slushy. That's why he'd been careful ever to. It had been clear to Dave how much effort and care Kurt put into looking the way he did. And so Fancy had really been a compliment from the start. A way for Dave to say _I like what you're wearing_ without actually saying it.

"Hey, Fancy." Dave said again. Kurt turned big worried eyes over to him. Dave shot a glance at Blaine, who was busy folding up his napkin into little origami shapes, lost in his thoughts. Dave looked back at Kurt and shook his head. _Don't push it. Just let it be._

Kurt seemed to pick up on what Dave had been thinking at him, because he took his boyfriends hand and squeezing it gently said, "Ready for the movie?"

Blaine and Dave both nodded. They paid and walked over to the theater, talking lightly about nothing, letting the darker things drift away.

The movie was definitely not Kurt's first choice, or third... Sigh. Aliens invading LA didn't sound super fun to him but he'd been out voted. Date night by committee. Double sigh. But he sucked it up and bought his ticket although Blaine had offered to pay. They were just three friends out on a Friday night...

He had gone into the aisle after Blaine and followed by Dave. They took their seats and Blaine and Dave had talked across Kurt about other alien movies they had seen and which ones they liked. Kurt had felt a little left out and was rather happy when the lights finally went down. At the beginning of the trailers Blaine's hand had found Kurt's, snaking their arms together. Kurt smiled and entwined his fingers with his boyfriends. Everything was okay.

Dave wished that Kurt and Blaine could find a way to separate themselves from each other for more than ten minutes at a time. It wasn't because he was afraid that people were going to see them... They had decided on going to a theater two towns over just for Dave. But watching them be all couply and touchy-feely made him want to hit something until his hand bled. Preferably something hard and inanimate. Why had he agreed to come out here with them? Dinner would have been fine. They could have just enjoyed a meal and then Dave could have wandered off to leave the two boys to their date. He knew they had been trying their best but Dave still felt like a third wheel here in the dark, intimacy of the theater. Maybe they would all be able to go to a movie some day. They really couldn't help it right now though, they were still in that honeymoon phase that Dave had seen a million times around the hallways of McKinely.

Well, at least the movie was cool.

Kurt hadn't expected to get so engrossed in the movie, but it turned out to be rather intense. At some point during one particularly nail-biting scene Kurt had jumped, and while still gripping Blaine's hand with his left, he reached out and grabbed onto Dave's with his right...

Dave forgot where he was or what movie he was watching when Kurt grabbed his hand. He looked over at Kurt, who was totally absorbed in the movie. Kurt had no clue that he had a death grip on Dave's fingers. Dave decided that we wasn't going to over analyze it. Kurt was holding onto Blaine's arm as well. Dave sighed and went with it. If Kurt pulled away then fine. But for now... Dave twisted his hand so he could actually hold Kurt's. As he left himself get sucked back into the film his thumb began to slowly move back and forth across Kurt's hand.

Kurt didn't know when he realized that he was not just holding Blaine's hand but Dave's as well. He considered taking his hand back. Wondering if Dave would think such a display of affection in a public was bad or way too soon. But Dave looked like he didn't mind and his hand was warm and it just felt so nice to hold hands with both of the boys on either side of him. Kurt sighed a little and let go of the thoughts...

When the movie ended Kurt had withdrawn his hand from Dave's without comment. _No need to make a big deal out of it. _Dave had made such an unconscious important step. There was no reason to draw attention to the fact that he had very happily held hands with another boy in public for almost an hour. Not to mention Kurt held everyone's hands; Blaine, Mercedes, Rachel, Brittany, Quinn...now Dave...it was totally normal for him...totally. He held Blaine's hand a little harder as they walked out of the theater into the crisp night air.

Kurt shivered and Blaine, feeling it. turned to look at Kurt. He slipped off his scarf and wrapped it tenderly around Kurt's bare neck. "Where's your scarf?"

Kurt's hand shot up to his throat. Then looked around for a second before crying out, "Oh no! I must have left it!"

Personally Dave wanted to burn every single one of Kurt's damn scarves. Kurt had to have the sexiest neck he could have ever imagined and it was a damn crime that he almost always hid it behind fabric. But the kicked-puppy look on Kurt's face made him speak, "I'll go get it."

Kurt quirked an eyebrow at Dave, "Do you know which one I..."

"It's kinda beige-ish, really fluffy looking." Of course Dave knew what Kurt had been wearing. _Good job Dave, not at all creepy or stalkerish..._

Kurt was rather impressed. "Wow. Good job." Kurt frowned wondering if he'd worn the scarf around Dave before...

Dave snorted, playing it off, "Yeah, awesome. I've got eyes. Be back in a sec guys. Meet you by the cars."

He missed the look that Blaine gave Kurt as he took off at a fast walk.

It had only taken him a second to find the scarf, the usher had said his girlfriend had the exact same one. Dave had just smiled and thanked the guy. _Of course it was a girls scarf..._ And of course Kurt could pull it off without any trouble. He was laughing as he walked back outside.

The smile died on his lips as he rounded the corner to the back of the theater... There were four guys around Kurt and Blaine. Standing between them and the cars. From the way Blaine was standing; shoulders back, gently pushing Kurt behind him, Dave knew that these people probably weren't friends of Blaine's.

Dave picked up his pace just in time to catch one of the boys say, "So, which one of you is the catcher and which one is the pitcher?" A tall boy grabbed at Blaine's scarf around Kurt's throat. Kurt pulled away from the touch. Blaine pushed Kurt a little farther behind him, but as Kurt was taller than Blaine it wasn't entirely successful. Kurt spoke, and although Dave couldn't catch the exact words he knew the tone, sassy, bitchy back talk. All four boys visibly stiffened... _Jesus Christ Fancy you just don't know when to shut up do you?_ Dave thought as he broke into a jog.

"Look guys. We don't want any trouble." Blaine was trying to speak in a easy, even tone.

"Well you should've thought about that before you let your bitch do the talking."

Before Kurt could say something Dave reached the group and walked around them to stand next to Blaine and Kurt. He handed the scarf over to Kurt without comment. Dave had several inches and a lot of muscle on the biggest of the strangers...but there were still four of them. Dave could also smell the alcohol on their breath. "There a problem?"

The ring leader, the one who had been doing all the talking so far, looked Dave up and down before he smiled a slimy, toothy grin, "Oh! Now I get it!"

Dave must have made a move or a noise because Kurt grabbed at Dave's shoulder, "Come on Fury. Just leave it. Let's go home."

Dave shrugged the hand off. He looked the leader right in the face, fists clenching, "You get what?" Dave knew he wasn't going to like the answer. He had hear the code word and didn't give a damn. He didn't try to keep himself calm, didn't even pretend that he was going to count to ten.

The leader moved, getting closer to Dave, "Just answer me something... Do you make them wait their turns or do you get off on watching them fuck each other?" He inclined his head towards Kurt, "I mean, I ain't queer, but I might let that girly one with the mouth blow me."

Dave wasn't sure what happened but the world went red and black around his eyes. It felt good, being able to slip into his anger. He had been so good lately about keeping control of himself that this rage was damn near intoxicating… Suddenly he was on top of the kid and was punching. Making contact with thick heavy sounds of fists on flesh.

Dave got in three or four good punches before the guys friends dragged him off. Dave thought he heard Kurt yell, "Dave!" As two boys held him while the ring leader punched him repeatedly in the ribs. The guy got a good hit in and Dave slumped forward, all the air shooting out of his lungs.

"Don't let those that little faggot leave!"

Dave tried to get up but he couldn't move, couldn't breathe. But he could still hear. He heard Kurt and Blaine yelling.

It had all happened so quickly. For a moment Kurt and Blaine had been forgotten by their attackers while they shifted their focus to Dave. Kurt shoved his phone into Blaine's hand. "Call 911!" He said. The last boy was advancing on them...

Looking back over to Dave Kurt's stomach twisted. _They are going to kill him! _Kurt didn't let himself think about what he was doing. He just launched himself at the one punching Dave. He jumped onto the back of the boy, holding on for dear life as the boy tried to throw him off. "Blaine! Run! Get the police!" Kurt yelled.

He caught a glimpse of Blaine, running back towards the front of the theater, the fourth boy hot on his heels. _Please, let him make it! Please!_ Kurt had no idea who he was asking, since he didn't believe in God but he had to ask. Then the boy he was on got a hold of Kurt's arm and pulled. Kurt flipped over and went flying through the air, landing heavily on his butt. There was a sharp, intense pain and Kurt rolled onto his side, moaning a little. He was almost immediately dragged up by the boy that had just thrown him off. "You want a piece of me fairy?" Kurt only had a second to see the hand before he got punched in the face. It hurt a lot more than he thought it would. His head snapped back and the boy let him fall back onto the pavement. Kurt was seeing black spots dance crazily in front of his eyes...and then things began to fade to black.

Dave had finally gotten his breath back. The two boys holding him were too busy watching their leader...Who Dave just saw punch Kurt in the face. Dave watched Kurt's slender body slump back onto his back. _No. Fucking. Way. _Dave roared and bursting out of the grip of the two boys Dave ignored the fierce pain in his ribs and tackled the boy standing over Kurt. They both went to the ground. Grappling for purchase. Dave head butted and with a gratifying crack the boy's nose exploded in blood. The boy got another hit in to Dave's already abused ribs and Dave grunted and crumbled sideways. He'd been playing sports for long enough that he knew he had at least a couple cracked ribs, or they might actually be broken now...

The boy was spiting fury and had blood oozing out of his nose still. He said a lot of horrible things that made no sense but Dave had heard what he finished with crystal clear, "I'm going to fucking kill you! Then I'll kill your little boyfriend!"

Suddenly one of the other boys was yelling, "Cops! Cops!" The boy hit Dave once more then they all took off. Jumping a fence and disappearing into the dark.

Dave struggled to his feet. He could see the flashing lights and hear the sirens. _Thank God!_

Dave limped over to where Kurt was still lying on the ground, not moving. _Please God, Please God. Let him be okay._ Dave prayed, because even after everything he apparently still did believe in God...

Just as Dave got to Kurt's side he saw Blaine appear next to him. Blaine's nice coat had nearly had one sleeve ripped off, his shirt was also ripped around the collar, he was covered in dirt and he was panting like he'd just run a marathon. Blaine touched Kurt's face gently, whispering his name. "Kurt, Kurt..."

Kurt groaned and one eye fluttered open, the other was already swelling, "Blaine? Is Dave alright?"

Blaine looked up at Dave, his gold eyes bright with tears. Dave just nodded to Blaine, rubbing the shorter boys shoulder as he sat down awkwardly next to them, "Yeah Fancy. I'm okay. We're all okay...thanks to Blaine." Blaine pressed his forehead to Dave's shoulder (in gratitude?) before turning his face back to Kurt's. Dave left his arm around Blaine's shoulders, letting the curly hair boy hold his boyfriend and cry.

After that it had been mostly a whirl wind of police asking a million questions. Someone had called a paramedic who had said that both Kurt and Dave needed to go to the hospital. Blaine had been allowed to drive after a quick check. But they had made Kurt and Dave ride in the ambulance since both boys were obviously injured and Dave could barely walk by the time they were ready to leave.

When they had gotten to the hospital it had been another whirl wind of people, nurses, X-rays and doctors. Dave had been told what he already knew, he had several cracked ribs. While Kurt had a bruised tail bone and what was going to be a spectacular black eye. _They had gotten off lucky._ The doctor had said.

After some more questions with the cops Kurt and Dave had both been shuffled over to a side room with beds. They weren't in any direct medical danger so they could be shuffled aside. Blaine had come along and sat in a chair between them. They had talked about what had happened. Filling in the holes. The kid chasing Blaine had managed to catch him and they had fallen to the ground in a flower bed. But Blaine had gotten away, wrecking his clothes but he'd gotten into the theater and they'd called the cops and the paramedics. Thankfully their had been a patrol car in the area.

Dave could see the pain in Blaine's eyes every time he looked at Kurt's face. The porcelain skin around Kurt's eye was already puffed shut, turning purple and blue almost before their eyes. It was obvious to Dave that Blaine was blaming himself.

"Dude, you should think about joining the football team next year."

"What?" Blaine said, turning his dazed attention to Dave.

"Man, you would make an amazing wide receiver! You would smoke all the guys we have on our team right now." Blaine's mouth turned up a little bit. _Mission accomplished._ Dave then turned to Kurt, "And you! Seriously Fancy, remind me never to piss you off."

Kurt let out a scoff. "Right. I think this sort of puts an end to my dreams of being a cage fighter."

Dave laughed but the pain that lanced through his side stopped him with a wince. Breathing was starting to hurt and Dave had a suspicion that it would for a while.

Kurt turned to Blaine, "So, do you think I look like a total badass with this amazing black-eye?"

Blaine finally broke into a full grin, "It's very manly and super sexy."

Kurt was wearing a lopsided and extremely goofy smile, "Excellent. I wouldn't have wanted this to go to waste."

Dave laughed again and moaned in pain, "You guys have to stop making me laugh. Shit fucking hurts."

"Sorry." Both boys said.

Another silence fell between them. Kurt looked over at Dave, he knew that the jock was putting on a brave face. His eyes were glassy with pain. _That could have been so much worse. If Dave hadn't been with us..._Kurt reached out his hand across Blaine toward Dave. Dave looked at it for a moment then took it. Blaine looped his hands around Dave and Kurt's and hugged them to his chest, supporting the hands with his, as Kurt said, "Thank you."

Dave looked from Kurt's battered face to Blaine, his messed up hair and torn clothes. He shook his head. _If it hadn't been for me neither of you would have been at that theater..._ Dave opened his mouth to say but thought better of it. Kurt had jumped a boy taller and bigger to try and save him. That was what he should be thinking about. Not should-haves, could-haves, would-haves. Dave shook his head again, "No. Thank you."

They sat there for a moment, the three of them holding each other. When a nurse came in they didn't let go but turned their attention to the woman.

She smiled sweetly at them. "Good news is that we think you will all be able to go home soon." All the boys smiled until the nurse finished, "We've called your parents. They'll be here soon to get you."

Blaine's hands dropped and the loss of the support made Dave let go of Kurt's hand. _Oh shit._ All three boys thought at the exact same time.

_ This was going to be bad..._


	5. Take It All

Sorry for making all the people following this story wait so long for an update. I was off traveling with very little internet access. This one is a little short. But I'm hoping to update soon. Thanks for sticking with me and this story. I know it's a slow burner.

* * *

Chapter 5 - Take It All

_ ~Didn't I give it all? Tried my best, Gave you everything I had, Everything and no less, Didn't I do it right? Did I let you down?~_

The nurse came in and dropped off new ice packs for Dave and Kurt. Kurt pressed a pack to his eye. He let out a small hiss at the pressure and cold. He felt Blaine take his free hand. Kurt glanced down, watching Blaine's fingers fidget against his hand. Kurt squeezed his boyfriends hand in an effort to calm Blaine's nerves. That and the constant nervous twitching was starting to wear on his already rather frazzled nerves.

The room had become much more sullen and quiet, each boy locked in their own heads. Blaine had never really spoken about his parents to Kurt. It had never really come up and Kurt had never thought that it was something that they needed to push. _Maybe that had been wrong? Maybe he should have shown more interest?_ Kurt knew he could be selfish and self-absorbed (like all good divas were) maybe he had been wrong never to push it. What did Kurt really know about Blaine's home life? Almost nothing... Kurt realized that he knew more about Dave's family than he did about his boyfriends. His glanced toward Dave, who was reclining in the hospital bed starring at his hands. Kurt always encouraged Dave to talk to him about everything. Why had he never told Blaine to do the same thing? Kurt frowned, ignoring the pain in his eye as he did so. But he was pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of raised voices coming toward them.

When he heard his parents voices Dave struggled to sit up, a sharp intake of breath betraying the pain it caused him. He didn't want to look as hurt as he felt when they came in. As soon as they came into the room he spoke, "Dad. Mom."

Mrs. Karofsky took one look at her son and burst into tears, "What happened? Are you alright? We got a call that you had been in a fight?" She rushed over to his side, trying to figure out for herself if her son really was okay.

"It's alright mom. I'm fine." Dave let his mom fuss over him. His eyes went back to his dad...Paul Karofsky had stopped moving when he'd come into the room. He was staring at Kurt and Blaine. Then his gaze flicked over to Dave and the disappointment in them cracked something inside of Dave. His dad thought he'd attacked the smaller boy. It was written all over his face. His own father thought he could do something like that. Dave let his shoulders slump forward, caving into his mother's arms breaking eye contact. His dad didn't know, his dad couldn't know, because Dave hadn't told him. He'd kept all his struggles and all his secrets from both of them. They had only known about the bullying, about the calls from the Principal, the suspensions. It was Dave's own fault that he was a disappointment to both of them. It was all his fault.

Dave heard his father's voice, "Did my son do this to you?" He knew that the question had been coming, but that didn't make it hurt any less when he heard it. Dave absently petted his mom's arm as he looked up.

At the question Kurt's mouth dropped open. He looked over to Blaine, who was looking equally shocked. Kurt hadn't been expecting that. And neither had Blaine apparently. He looked back at Mr. Karofsky, "I beg your pardon?"

Dave's dad spoke again, "Did my son attack you and your...your friend?"

Horror flooded Kurt's face. _He thinks Dave attacked us? Hadn't the police or the doctors talked to them? _Kurt's hands went limp, making the ice pack fall off his face exposing his eye to the two adults in the room for the first time.

Mrs. Karofsky's sobs redoubled when she saw the blacks, blues and purples that were now Kurt's eye, "Oh, my God! David..."

Dave was trying desperately to calm his mother down as Kurt kept eye contact with Mr. Karofsky. "No."

Kurt waited for Mrs. Karofsky to muffle her sobs before he continued, "No. Dave didn't attack us. He...he was with us. He came to see a movie with us."

Paul Karofsky didn't seem to believe Kurt. He shook his head slowly from side to side, "I know you and David aren't friends. And while I understand that you must be frightened I need you to tell me the truth. Nothing will happen to you. I promise."

Kurt looked over at Dave. Dave was still holding onto his sobbing mother. Kurt could see the defeat all over Dave's face, in his turned down mouth. Dave looked up and caught Kurt's eye. Under all that defeat Kurt could see a numb terror. He was trapped. So trapped.

Kurt was at an absolute loss what to do. He started scrambling for the words. Saying the first things that came into his mind, "Mr. Karofsky. Dave and I have been on speaking, even friendly terms for a couple of months now. He apologized to me a long time ago. I'm sorry that you didn't know about that."

Mr. Karofsky's eyes went over to Dave and his wife but came back to Kurt quickly, his thick brow coming down as he listened.

Kurt pushed on, "I know about Dr. Shane, I know about Dave's suspension, we've been talking. I would call him a friend. The reason why your son is here right now is because he got between me, my boyfriend and four guys that were hassling us. My face would look a lot worse if it hadn't been for him."

Blaine nodded emphatically adding, "He probably saved our lives."

Paul Karofsky addressed his son for the first time, "Is this true David?"

Dave looked up at his father. He nodded slowly, "Yes." _Well, sort of. _Dave still felt like he'd probably just made everything worse by being there but that wasn't really helpful to say at the moment.

Mrs. Karofsky pulled slightly away from her son, "Why didn't you say anything to us?"

Dave shrugged, "I dunno." _What was he supposed to have said?_

She cupped the side of her sons face, "Honey, you can tell us anything. You know that, right?"

Dave closed his eyes and nodded slowly. _Yeah, sure, anything…right. _If he had just held onto his fucking temper….then none of this would have happened. He wouldn't be laid up in a hospital bed next to an equally hurt Kurt, a distraught Blaine, and dealing with what had to be the most awkward situation he'd ever found himself in with his parents since his mom walked in on him masturbating when he was thirteen. Well, maybe that had been slightly more embarrassing. This was just extremely uncomfortable.

"I know mom. I'm sorry."

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up at his father, "David. I'm sorry."

Dave reached up to grip his dad's hand. The two men nodded at each other. His parents loved him. Dave knew that. But they didn't know him anymore. He'd shut them out and now he didn't know how to let them back in.

Blaine had moved to the other side of Kurt's bed, giving Dave and his family more room. Kurt had tried to pretend that he was blind and deaf to the whole thing. It was such a private moment, seeing into Dave's world. They had talked about his family, Kurt remembered Dave worrying that they wouldn't accept him if he came out to them. _How can you know if the love you have is unconditional?_ That had been Kurt's biggest fear when he came out to Burt. The heart-stopping fear of finding out that their love wasn't unconditional…_I love you as long as you aren't this…_ Kurt hoped Dave's parents were the unconditional type.

There was a quite knock on the door and a thin man with dark hair, sliver framed glasses and wearing an expensive suit walked into the room.

Kurt felt more than saw Blaine stiffen next to him. Kurt looked from the man back to Blaine. This had to be Blaine's father. Kurt couldn't really see Blaine in the man standing in the doorway. Except for the hair and maybe the mouth a little.

"Excuse me for interrupting. My name is Charles Anderson, I think my son is in here." Mr. Anderson said to the room at large. His eyes found Blaine. He walked over to his son, looking him up and down.

Blaine, who had still been holding Kurt's hand, gestured with his free one, "Dad, this is Kurt."

Mr. Anderson's dark eyes shifted to Kurt. Kurt tried to sit up a little straighter, letting go of Blaine so he could offer his hand to the older man. Blaine's father took it and shook it briefly. Kurt added, "It's very nice to meet you."

"Blaine has talked about you." his eyes drifted over Kurt's face and then the rest of him, taking in the bruises, ice packs, and bandages.

Mr. Anderson's dark eyes came back to Blaine, who stood up straighter under the gaze, like he was trying to be taller. "That's our friend Dave and his parents."

Mr. Anderson turned to the other group in the room, inclining his head briefly he said, "I wish we could be meeting under different circumstances." He turned back to Blaine, "So, can you tell me what happened?"

Blaine tried to explain what had happened but Kurt had to fill in the gaps. They left out who had thrown the first punch. Dave's mother hugged his arm tighter hearing the story. The Karofsky's turned back to each other at the end losing themselves in their own conversation.

Kurt wished his dad, Carol, or hell, even Finn were there. It would at least give him something to focus on rather than trying to melt into the hospital bed and ignore both groups. But he couldn't help but hear Blaine and his dad talking.

After the story was finished Mr. Anderson stood quietly then reached out and touched the ripped shoulder of Blaine's jacket. "There's not a mark on you."

"Dad...please." Kurt's head jerked over so he could see Blaine. He had never heard Blaine's voice sound like that.

Blaine's head dropped down, looking at the floor for a moment before he forced himself to stand up straight again.

Mr. Anderson continued on in a low yet blistering voice, "Even your boyfriend there knew how to throw a punch. And what about your other friend? You just let him stand up and take the punishment for the both of you?"

Blaine looked up at his dad, his jaw tightening. "I..."

His father cut him off, "You've chosen this life Blaine. You need to be able to sleep in the bed you've made. You can't expect people to fight your battles for you. You need to learn to be a man."

Kurt went completely ridged at that last sentence and for the second time in under an hour his mouth fell open in shock. _What the hell was this guy's problem? _Kurt weighted the options and opened his mouth to let fly a torrent of bitchiness (one-day-possible-father-in-law-be-damned) when he heard Dave speak up. Kurt turned and saw Dave trying to pull himself upright and out of bed, his mother's hands the only thing keeping him down, "Blaine saved all our lives! Those guys wouldn't have stopped. I have two cracked ribs. Kurt was almost beaten unconscious. Blaine managed to fight his way from a guy holding him to get us help. Just because he didn't throw a punch does not make him any less of a man."

Kurt's eyes widened with every syllable out of Dave's mouth. He managed to resist the urge to yell _Damn Right!_ at the end of Dave's speech. Mr. Anderson's eyes narrowed slightly and his voice took on a cool, calm tone, "That's nice of you to say son. But you don't need to defend him. I know who he is."

Again Kurt was beaten to the punch to say something extremely bitchy by Dave. The jock was really on a roll. Kurt just hoped that Dave didn't lose his temper. Dave managed to push his mother's hands away enough to sit up completely. "But you don't know me. Being gay doesn't make him less of a man."

Dave paused for a moment. He knew what he wanted to say next. But he also knew what it would mean. He'd watched Blaine's face as his father talked to him. Blaine hadn't cried, hadn't teared up. He'd just stood there, shoulders back, jaw tight and taken every word of it. If Blaine could do that then Dave knew he had no excuse. "Knowing when to fight. Knowing when to call for help. The confidence to be yourself. That's what makes a man. I can only hope that one day I'll be as confident in being gay as he is...as they both are... "

Kurt's gasp was painfully audible in the silent room. His hands flew up to cover his mouth as he looked from Dave to Mr. Karofsky then to Mrs. Karofsky. _Did Dave just come out to his parents? Yup._ This had to be the strangest, most emotionally taxing night of his life since his Kurt's dad had been in the hospital. He held his breath wondering what was going to happen next.

Dave's mom was the first to recover,"David?" Her voice was small and tentative, like she wasn't sure who she was talking to anymore.

Dave turned to look up at his mom. "I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you. I've wanted to tell you. But I thought...I thought you'd..."

But he was stopped short when his mom flung her arms back over his shoulders, grabbing onto his head and holding Dave against her, "Oh David. I love you. I will always love you."

Dave looked up toward his father. Paul Karofsky stood looking down at his son but this time Dave didn't see disappointment in his father's face. There was a lot of things in those eyes that Dave didn't understand but he knew at least that disappointment wasn't one of them. "Dad?"

Dave's mom spoken again, "Paul. Hug your son."

Those words seemed to break Paul out of a trance and he wrapped his arms around both his son and his wife. "I don't care what you are David. The only thing I've ever wanted was for you to be happy. If being gay is what makes you happy then I'll have to learn to live with that. I love you."

There was a sound like a gasp and a few nervous giggles. Everyone in the room turned to see a group of people standing in the doorway. Kurt closed his good eye. _Oh dear gaga!_ Not only were his dad and Carol there but so were Finn, Mr. Shue, and half the Glee club... It was pretty obvious from everybodies faces that they had managed to show up just in time for Dave's confession.

_Great, just great..._


	6. Rumor Has It

This is another short one. Chapters 5 and 6 used to be one chapter but I decided to separate them. Enjoy everybody!

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Chapter 6 - Rumor Has It

_Bless your soul, you've got your head in the clouds, You made a fool out of me, And, boy, you're bringing me down, You made my heart melt, yet I'm cold to the core, ~_

**Monday at School**

Dave walked gingerly down the hall being careful not to jostle or be jostled by anyone as he maneuvered through the crowds. His ribs hurt like a fucking bitch and he wished he didn't have to carry his backpack. Walking and breathing were hard enough at the moment.

His mom had wanted him to take a sick day, get a little better before going back to school. But Dave had put his foot down. He was going to school on Monday. That was just how it was going to be.

She'd been fussing over him all weekend. He'd been forced to do nothing but lie in bed on Saturday and Sunday, his mother constantly hovering around him like a manic bee. He'd convinced her to let Azimio over to hang out for a while on Sunday. It had been good. They talked about how Dave's parents were dealing with him being gay. And the fact that the entire glee club probably knew by now.

_"You know man, if you're trying to keep it on the DL you're doing a pretty shit job."_

_ "They won't say anything. Kurt said something yesterday about having enough dirt on all of them to keep their mouths shut about it."_

_ "I always figured Hummel would love throwing you to the wolves."_

_"Things change."_

_ "Tell me about it."_

Dave was still trying to figure out what all the fallout would be of his coming out. That had been one of the main reasons why he had insisted on coming to school on Monday. It would have been way too easy to let his mom keep him home. He could hide up in his room, pretending that his life wasn't possibly spinning way out of his control. But if he had let her keep him home he may have never wanted to go back to school. He needed to know what level of damage control he needed to so far, school had been eerily normal... then again school hadn't really started yet.

Dave got to his locker and spun the lock until it popped open. Moving his arm to lift his books sent yet another sharp crack of pain through his side. "Fuck!" He gritted between his teeth. As he turned back to his locker he caught sight of Kurt and Blaine next to Kurt's locker just a bit down the hall. They were laughing. He was happy to see that the swelling had gone down on Kurt's eye but he now had virtually a rainbow of bruises across it. Dave thought about going over to say hi but couldn't bring himself to do it. He watched as Blaine reached out and took Kurt's books and bag, carrying them for Kurt as they walked away down the hall together. There was another pain in his chest now, but this had nothing to do with his ribs. Dave slammed the locker shut and turned to walk to his first class.

Nothing seemed to have changed. Well, the glee kids all seemed to be treating him differently. They were more...nice. He'd even had a civil conversation with Puck during their Chem class. Whatever Kurt had said to them seemed to be working.

Dave swung back to his locker two periods later only to find Santana Lopez leaning against it. He'd never been friendly with Santana even when she'd been a cheerleader. He'd never been slightest interested in her and the feeling had been very mutual. So what the hell was she doing up against his locker lips pursed and eyebrow up? _Here comes trouble._

"You lost Lopez?"

Santana moved slightly out of the way to give Dave access to his locker. "I was here to offer you some help?'

"Oh yeah?" Dave didn't look over, just keeping his focus on the messy contents of his locker, "Help with what?"

"With your books."

Dave gave her an incredulous look, "You wanna help me with my books?"

She folded her arms and popped a hip out, "Did I stutter?"

"Why do you wanna help me?"

"Well, it looks like you could use some help to cement your hetro-cred here at school. So this is how it's going to go down. I'll be your girlfriend. You get a beard I get a date to prom. What do you say?"

Dave closed his locker looking down at her. She was nuts. Hands down fucking loco. "Thanks. But no thanks."

"Why not?"

"I ain't interested in being used."

Dave turned to leave but stopped when Santana said, "Could've fooled me."

He spun back to her, looming over her he hissed through his teeth, "What the fuck does that mean?"

Santana tossed some hair over her shoulder, "I don't think you'd want me to say in a crowded hallway at school. But if I's got's to spell it out for you..."

Dave followed her gaze when her voice suddenly died off. Santana was starring at Brittany as she pushed Artie down the hallway stopping halfway down to kiss him. _God, what was up with glee club? It's like they all had this drive to pair up and mate or something. _Dave shook the thought away and quickly looked back at the dark haired girl in front of him. He frowned at the look on her face. He snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Yo! Earth to Lopez!"

Santana snapped out of it and glared at Dave, "You know what? Never mind. Have a nice life Queer Eye."

As she turned to leave Dave grabbed her arm and turned her around, "Hey! You tell me the real reason why you wanna do this and maybe we'll talk." Dave let go of her arm, his face searching over hers, "Cuz I know that look."

"You should know this one too then. This is the one I call _the bitch please_ look." And with that she spun on her heel and strutted down the hallway.

_Girls. _

The rest of the day was just another school day. Glee club had been the most relaxed he'd ever seen it. Dave caught Kurt's questioning look when he'd gone and sat in the back, not in his normal spot. But Dave had just shook his head, he didn't want to explain what he was doing. Most of the class had been spent talking about Nationals and talking about the weeks assignment. _Well, at least that's something good out of all this. _Dave had watched Santana carefully during it though. She'd sat up in the back as well, away from everyone putting on her best bitch face and not really participating. Except something would cross it whenever Brittany would talk or try and look up at her. Santana looked miserable. And Dave thought he knew why.

After glee Dave had puttered around waiting for Santana. _What the fuck am I doing? She's crazy. I can't really be considering what she was talking about. Can I? _He caught up to her as she left the bathroom. "Hey."

"What do you want?" She spat at him.

Dave's temper flared. "For starters? I'd love to know why you are such a miserable bitch?" _That stopped her._

Santana turned slowly and coming back to Dave pushed a finger into the center of his chest. "Cuz I'm good at it."

Dave looked down at her angry brown eyes and let his anger go, "It sucks doesn't it?"

She took a step back, "What?"

He saw the wavering in her eyes and followed it up ruthlessly. "Being so good at being mean. I mean, it does make a lot of things easier, but then ya just end up going home empty and alone."

Santana dropped her head down. Dave watched her fight with herself for a moment before she looked up at him again, "Yeah, it blows."

Dave had never been big on being someone's psychiatrist. He'd always felt to caught up in his own shit to try and help anyone else's with theirs. But maybe just maybe this could work out. "You wanna talk about it?"

Santana had just nodded at him and they had walked together down the hallway and out the doors.

They had sat in Dave's truck and talked for a long time. It had taken awhile for Santana to talk about it. About how she felt about Brittany. He hadn't talked about Kurt, Dave had talked about being gay. About his fears and worries about that. But he hadn't mentioned Kurt's name. He didn't want to talk about that to anyone. Even the one person who would probably understand his situation the best. He felt a bit (or a lot a bit) like a hypocrite listening to Santana when he couldn't be as honest as she was being.

After they had finished speaking they let an easy quiet fill the car.

Then Dave started laughing, "So you want to date me to make Brit jealous?"

"Yeah. That's sort of the point." Santana thought about it for a moment before she started laughing as well.

Dave let out another chuckle before saying, "I never figured you for a dike."

"We'll I never figure you for a fag." Santana jabbed back.

"Bitch."

"Asshole."

They smiled at each other and shook hands. _Birds of a feather or some shit like that right?_


	7. Daydreams

_I keep starting these long chapters then having them get cut into halves because I want then under different titles. This is some much needed fluff since ours boys have been having it a bit rough lately. The part that was supposed to be Dave's half of the chapter is now chapter 8. Enjoy guys!_

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Chapter 7- Daydreams

_~Daydreamer, with eyes that make you melt, He lends his coat for shelter plus he's there for you when he shouldn't be, But he stays all the same, waits for you and then sees you through, There's no way I could describe him~_

**Friday Night**

"Okay, Carol and Burt are off to see a movie and Finn just left saying he was going to hang out with Puck. Which I think is his new code for him saying he is off to make out with Quinn." Blaine shuffled into Kurt's room arms loaded, "So, I've got super tasty lentil soup, lavender mint tea, and your choice between _Memoirs of A Geisha, Moulin Rouge _or_ Chicago._" He kicked the door closed behind him.

Kurt, who was snuggled into a warm duvet giggled as he watched Blaine struggle a bit with the tray. "You are very close to being declared the best boyfriend ever."

Finally finding a place to set the tray down Blaine glanced up smiling, "Oh no! I'm still not there yet? What did I do wrong?"

"Well the best boyfriend ever would have offered to fluff my pillows or find me another blanket. And there would have been a flower of some kind on the tray." Kurt picked up the bowl carefully and took a sip of the soup.

"Damn. I knew I forgot something." Blaine held up the three movies. Kurt pointed to the one he wanted and Blaine put in the disk and crawled up onto the bed beside Kurt, taking some of the blanket.

Kurt had wanted to go out to eat but had been over ruled by Burt, Carol and (most annoyingly) by Blaine. Honestly he knew they were probably right. Even though his eye was doing much better (and with the miracle of make-up you could barely see the discoloration anymore...sort of) his tail bone was still giving him trouble. Sitting on those horrible school chairs had been a special kind of hell that Kurt was hoping would not last for too much longer. And really, spending quiet, quality alone time with Blaine was not a bad trade off in the least.

They sat in companionable silence for a while as Kurt ate and Blaine rested his head on Kurt's shoulder. Kurt had tried to get Blaine to eat something but Blaine had just shaken his head and said he'd already eaten. They had both seen the movie many times before, and Kurt's attention kept wandering...

It had been exactly one week since the incident at the movie theater but a lot seemed to have happened since then. _The joys of being in high school...life at the speed of twitter. _As he finished his soup his phone buzzed, Kurt quickly leaned over and picked it up from it's place by his bed.

"Dave?" Blaine asked.

"No. Mercedes wants to know if I'll be allowed out to go shopping tomorrow." Kurt let out a little sigh. Dave hadn't called him at all this week. They'd talked last weekend, they'd talked A LOT last weekend. With them both being forcibly bedridden and Blaine having to spend the weekend with his parents Kurt and Dave had basically been attached to their phones. Then suddenly this whole Santana thing had happened. Totally out of the blue the two of them were walking down hallways together, her holding his books, connected at the hip. Kurt knew he wasn't the only person to be completely confused at the entire situation but Kurt had been hurt that Dave hadn't called him or texted him at all this week. Or told him what he thought he was doing with Santana (or who Kurt liked to think of as _Ten-pounds of crazy in a five-pound bag._) They'd talked during glee club but not really _talked_. Kurt just didn't get it. Dave's parents seemed to be dealing okay with him coming out, Azimio seemed to be as well. _What the hell was Dave doing?_

"You mean with Santana?"

Blaine's question snapped Kurt's head up. _Had he asked that question out loud?_ Kurt came back over to Blaine, "Yeah. I mean did you hear that they're even running for Prom King and Queen? Quinn is absolutely livid. But I just don't get it. Why is he pretending?"

Blaine took Kurt's hands, "Kurt. It's Dave's life. And Dave's choice on how he deals with these things. Who knows, they might be good for each other."

Kurt laced his fingers with Blaine's, "I just don't think this is going to help Dave."

Blaine waited for a moment before he spoke again, "I don't know...it might be good for him to spend some time with some more people."

Kurt tilted his head to the side, catching Blaine's eyes, "What do you mean?"

Blaine shrugged, "I just mean that she might be good a good distraction."

"A distraction for what? Being gay?" Kurt said with a scoff.

"To get his mind off of the monster crush he has on you."

Kurt looked at Blaine totally perplexed, "What are you talking about?" _Monster crush? Dave? What?_

Blaine gave Kurt a tiny quirk of a brow, "Come on babe. I know you aren't that oblivious."

Kurt let out another sigh, "Well, of course I know he _liked _me. That was pretty obvious. But I really think that whole kissing thing was just him being all mixed up and me being the only other gay kid that he knew. And he's just really needed a friend through all this. So it's only natural that we've gotten close."

Blaine just raised his eyebrows.

"Don't look at me like that! It's not crazy to think this way."

Blaine let out a long breath, "No, it's not. And while you may be right. I think that there is more to it than that."

Kurt smiled, "Why do you always sound so reasonable?"

Blaine chuckled lightly, "Years and years of dealing with painfully _reasonable _sounding parents."

Kurt unwound one of his hands from Blaine's and brought it up to brush against Blaine's face. That was the first time he'd mentioned his parents since Kurt had met his father in the hospital. Kurt had wanted to talk to Blaine about it but hadn't known how to broach the subject. So he took the opportunity, "I'm sorry about your Dad." _Yes, very suave Kurt._

Blaine dropped his eyes and waved a hand dismissively, "Well they can't all be as understanding as yours...or Dave's."

Kurt felt a pang as Blaine spoke, "Blaine?"

Blaine looked up. Kurt loved Blaine's eyes, they weren't really brown, they were more golden than anything else. But it wasn't just the color Kurt loved, it was how expressive they were. Kurt rubbed his thumb gently over his boyfriends cheek, "It hurt didn't it?"

Blaine's eyes fill up with sadness as he'd nodded, "Yes. It hurt to see Dave's parents being so supportive...so understanding. I mean. I know that there isn't anything wrong with me. And I have my mom. She's pretty great. But I every now and then I still ask myself why he can't just love me for me?"

Kurt guided Blaine's face forward and kissed him. Pulling away slightly, "I think you're amazing."

Kurt watched the emotions play over his boyfriends face. So many feelings, so many thoughts. So much sadness. All Kurt wanted to do at the moment was to push all that hurt off of Blaine's face, chase it away with kisses. Which is exactly what he started doing.

He peppered light kisses all over Blaine's face, on his eye-lids, across his forehead, lingering on his lips. Blaine made a noise in his throat as he caught Kurt's lips in a fierce kiss. Kurt closed his eyes as Blaine's hands came up to either side of Kurt's face. Blaine's kisses became more demanding, more heated. Kurt opened his mouth to let Blaine's tongue tentatively enter. They slowly explored each others mouths as the shadows began to lengthen in the dark of the room.

Kurt had wrapped his hands around Blaine's shoulders and so when Blaine lay down Kurt had to either go with him or let go. Kurt let himself be taken down, his head landed on one of his pillows.

Kurt let out a little gasp as Blaine's hands slipped underneath Kurt's shirt. Blaine had never been insistent as far as their physical relationship went before, and this was the farthest they had gone so far. The feel of Blaine's warm hands moving over Kurt's body as they moved down and around to press against his back felt good. Very good. So did the feel of Blaine's lips as they trailed open mouthed kisses along Kurt's jaw.

And yet...there was still something nagging at the back of Kurt's mind. Something that was keeping him from just letting go completely.

"Blaine." Kurt whispered.

But Blaine hadn't heard Kurt, he was bit too busy kissing Kurt, too caught up in his emotions and desires. Kurt closed his eyes. _I'm here. Kissing Blaine. Being kissed by Blaine. Everything is right. This is where I want to be. _Kurt wasn't sure why he even needed to think that. Blaine cared deeply about him. He'd transfered schools with him. Had always been there to support him. It was Kurt's turn to show Blaine how supportive he could be...

Kurt gripped Blaine's face and looked deeply into the curly haired boys eyes, the flickering light of the TV dancing across their faces, before crushing Blaine's mouth down onto his own. Blaine moaned, his hands becoming more insistent in their movements. Pulling Kurt's shirt up a little more and then sliding back down... those hot hands slid past Kurt's waist, moving along his spine, down farther, and farther...

Kurt let out a startled cry of pain as Blaine's hands accidentally came into contact with his bruised tail bone.

Blaine pulled away quickly, scrambling up onto his knees. "Oh God Kurt! Are you okay? I'm so sorry! I... I got a little carried away."

Kurt sat up carefully, smoothing his shirt down, readjusting until the pain began to subside. "It's okay. I'm okay. I guess I'm still a little hurt."

When the pain finally faded away Kurt looked over to Blaine; there was a deep red blush creeping up the dark haired boys face. Kurt was confused for a moment before Blaine unceremoniously picked up one of the pillows and brought it over to cover his lap. Kurt looked down at himself and blushed as well. _Ah, yes, anatomy. How not at all awkward. _Kurt couldn't exactly cross his legs in the position he was in so tried to nonchalantly tug the bunched up duvet over himself.

Kurt and Blaine looked at each other for a little while, letting their...heartbeats...slow down to manageable levels again. A grin slowly spread over Kurt's face. Blaine mirrored the grin. Finally Kurt reached a hand out and said, "Come over here and lie down with your broken boyfriend."

Blaine took Kurt's hand, "I think I have to be the little spoon. Don't want any repeat injuries." They arranged themselves so Kurt could wrap himself around Blaine, their heights actually made it work rather well. Kurt had never really imagined himself the spooner, he was usually the spooned in his daydreams but this was...sweet. They started the movie over.

Blaine hugged Kurt's arm, "Just for the record...I think you're amazing too. Thank you."

Kurt hugged Blaine tighter against him.

When Burt and Carol came back home and they went up to check on Kurt they found him and Blaine fast asleep holding each other. Carol had quietly gone in and turned the TV off. Neither boy had moved. It had been a brief discussion but Carol had won. Burt closed the door without waking either boy up.

"Just this once." Burt had said as they walked down the hall.

Carol smiled sweetly at him and kissing him lightly on the lips said, "Thank you."


	8. Melt My Heart To Stone

_This was a difficult chapter to write. I really hope everyone enjoys the interactions. Thanks so much to all of you that have read, reviewed and put me on your alerts! It means a lot to know that there are people who are really into the story._

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Chapter 8 - Melt My Heart To Stone

_ ~And I hear your words that I made up, You say my name like there could be an us, I best tidy up my head I'm the only one in love, I'm the only one in love, Why do you steal my hand, Whenever I'm standing my own ground, You build me up, then leave me dead~_

**Sunday**

Dave was listening to the sound of the shower running in his bathroom next door. It was a muted but oddly comforting sound.

Santana had come over an hour ago bitching about how her hot water had gotten turned off, again. And while Dave had been sympathetic at the time if she normally took hour (and counting) long showers then perhaps there was a reason why she had no hot water… _Seriously? What the hell was she doing in there? _Dave let out a deep sigh and lay back on his bed, he tried to put his hands behind his head but his ribs just weren't having it yet. He was getting better, thanks in a large part to his mom, but he knew it would be a few more weeks.

The steady drumming of the water encouraged his mind to wander over the last week... It hadn't been a terrible week. And it had been a pretty relaxing weekend all in all. Dave had been rather surprised to find out that Santana was kinda fun to hang out with. In school she had always seemed like a manic, attention-seeking-gansta-wannabe, acid-tongued shrew….but outside of school…she was much more relaxed and pretty funny. Dave had been laughing so hard yesterday that Mrs. Karofsky had threatened to kick her out of the house if Santana didn't help Dave relax. After his mom had left Santana had given him her best sultry look and asked him if he wanted her "_to find a way_ _to help him relax?"_ For one terrifying moment he thought she was being serious until she burst out laughing and punched him playfully on the shoulder.

It was a strange friendship. One that he hadn't necessarily thought he would really enjoy, but he had to admit that he'd gotten a kick walking down the hallways of McKinely with Santana and sending certain members of the student body scurrying for cover with just a look. Lopez could do bitch face better than just about everyone…_except Kurt. _Although this whole Prom King and Queen stuff was a bit ridiculous. Dave didn't give a flying fuck about being the Prom King…and he had a sneaking suspicion that Santana didn't really care either, this had something to do with either pissing Quinn off or trying to draw Brittany's attention. Dave really wasn't sure which, Kurt would know, he was always up to date on McKinely gossip. Dave glanced toward his phone and resisted the urge to check for any missed calls.

He knew there wouldn't be any.

After all Dave was always the one who called. He wasn't sure how it ended up that way but it was the habit they fell into months and months ago. Dave calls Kurt. Kurt doesn't call Dave. They text back and forth but as far as actually initiating phone conversations go… The only time Kurt had ever called Dave first was after Dave had hung up on him. And didn't think that should count.

It had taken everything in Dave not to call Kurt over the last week. It was weird not talking to him. Kurt had become a central part of his support system...he'd tried to explain that to Santana. But Santana had told him to hold off calling. "_Trust me Karofsky. We need to let things brew. He'll call you." _she'd said_. _This was all a part of her master plan or something. The fact that she even had a master plan probably should have set off warning bells in Dave's head. But he was content to give it a try. He hadn't really been doing that much anyway except pinning away for Kurt Hummel while trying to be happy with playing third wheel on Kurt and Blaine's gay didn't know what Santana was trying to prove to him. Kurt hadn't called him all week. Dave had gotten tired of compulsively checking his phone. So when it rang he didn't even look to see who was calling._ See? I don't even fucking care anymore. Nope. Not at all. _ He just picked up with a gruff, "Yeah?"

There was a pause and a little cough before Kurt's voice came over the line, "Uh, is it a bad time?"

Dave sat bolt upright, twisting away from the dull pain in his side as he did so._ Kurt had called. Holy shit, Lopez had been right._ "No, no. It's fine. Just my ribs being bitches. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much. We just haven't chatted in a while."

Dave let himself fall back onto his bed. _Nothing much. _"What'd ya mean a while? We talked at school on Friday."

Dave thought it was cute how Kurt's voice went higher when he got frustrated like it did now, "That's not what I meant and you know it. Did you go to Dr. Shane on Wednesday?"

"Of course, last Wednesday, and the Wednesday before that, and the Wednesday before that."

"Well, how'd it go?"

"Doc wants me to bring my parents in for a group session or something like that. To talk about everything that went down last week."

"You don't sound thrilled with this idea."

Dave thought about it for a moment, "I dunno. I kind like my sessions just with me. All the little compartments of my life are already bleeding into each other. It's nice to have one place where that isn't happening."

"It might be good though. Just as a one-time-thing."

Dave let out a little snort. "I know. They're coming with me next week. They seem really into it. Especially my mom." There was a long pause before Dave let out a deep sigh, "Kurt. Did you really just call me to ask about how therapy was going?"

"Well, not entirely... I also wanted to know about your weekend."

Dave's brows shot up. "My weekend? It's been good so far I guess. I mean nothing really crazy. My mom is still making me lie around for most of every damn day. Fucking boring as shit. You get to hang out with Blaine?" Dave shut his eyes, bringing a hand up and dragging it slowly down his face. _Why the hell had he asked that? _

The brightness in Kurt's tone made Dave want to punch something, "He came over on Friday and made me dinner! It was really nice. Since my dad and Carol still don't want us going out yet. Oh! My dad let us sleep in the same room!"

At that moment Dave was very happy that Kurt could not see the face he was making. "Uh, congratulations?" _We're just friends. Friends talk about these things. It happens. Don't turn it into a big deal._

"I know it seems silly but that's a big step for him." There was a long pause as Kurt waited for Dave to say something. Dave knew that he was letting the silence get awkward but he had absolutely no desire to continue on this topic of conversation. He had enough issues to deal with without having to think about what it would be like to lie down next to Kurt and wrap his arms around the smaller boy…what it would be like to kiss the back of Kurt's neck and feel his body respond…Or to think about Blaine doing those things to Kurt.

Kurt finally spoke again, thankfully changing the subject, "Did you see Azimio this weekend?"

Dave shook himself, trying to clear the images out of his head, "Actually I hung out with Lopez yesterday… and today."

Kurt's tone went flat, "Seriously?"

"Yeah, so what?" _Ah, defensiveness._ This was so much easier.

"You two aren't actually dating." The way Kurt said it made Dave know that it wasn't a question.

Dave grunted lightly into the phone, shrugging his shoulders, "We're spending time together."

"Dave your gay!"

"Oh, my God! Thanks for clearing that up for me Kurt. I totally forgot."

"Do you even know what people at school are saying about the two of you?"

Dave honestly had no idea. He'd been too preoccupied with the situation itself to hear the rumors. "Haven't really been listening."

"You and Santana have been spotted in what seems to be every corner of McKinely having sex or making out. Oh and did you know that your Santana's baby-daddy? And that's why you joined Glee Club."

Dave burst out laughing."Wow. That good huh?"

Kurt wasn't laughing. "You're not doing _anything_ with her are you?"

Dave's laughter died as quickly as it had appeared, "And how is that any of your business?"

Kurt's voice became deeper, colored by his anger, "You came out to your parents, to Azimio... And now suddenly you're sleeping with Slut-o-Rama? You know she's slept with Finn and Puck and probably Sam. You're just another notch on her lipstick case."

Dave pulled away from the phone and looked at it. Did Kurt really think that Dave would do that? Didn't Kurt know Dave better than that by now? _Fuck!_ "Look! Santana is actually pretty cool. And what I do or don't do with her doesn't matter."

Kurt scoffed. "Shutting yourself back into your closet and locking the door? That matters!"

Okay. Now Dave was pissed. He'd waited all week to talk to Kurt. To be able to lay back on his bed and talk like they always did and now all he was getting was a shit load of fucking sass. Because Kurt just didn't get it. "What? I can't have any other friends unless you approve of them first?"

"That's not what I said!"

Not what he said but what he had meant. Dave knew it. Kurt just wanted Dave at his beck and call. Forever burning his ass on Kurt's back burner. Somewhere in Dave's mind he knew that he wasn't thinking clearly anymore but he just couldn't stop himself. He was spiraling.

This was the moment that Santana chose to get out of the shower. Wrapped in a towel, hair still dripping, she looked at Dave for barely a moment before walking straight over and grabbing the phone out of his hand.

Dave was too shocked to do anything than just sit there, mouth open and listen as she took over his conversation, "Hey Kurt. Yeah, this is Santana. No, I was downstairs. Look, Dave's had a shitty day and needs to drive me home now so he's going to go. He'll talk to you at school tomorrow."

She hung up and tossed the phone back at Dave.

He struggled to sit up, but by the time he got up she was already back in the bathroom slamming the door shut behind her.

Dave stalked over to the door, "What the hell Lopez?" He shouted through it.

"I'm sorry I can't hear you!"She sang through the door.

Dave ground his teeth together in frustration, fighting the urge to bang on the door until she opened it.

The door swung open again, only this time Santana was fully clothed with the towel wrapped around her head. "You wanna say something to me Karofsky?"

The best thing about anger was that it was an emotion that transferred pretty easily from target to target. All of Dave's frustration quickly found a target in the girl standing in his room. "I had everything under control!"

Santana crossed her arms over her chest, took one deep breath, lifted her chin and looked Dave right in the eye, "I think you should just cool it and say _thank you _ta me tomorrow when you still have Ladyface McPrissypants as a friend."

_Ladyface. She had called Kurt Ladyface. _Dave knew how much Kurt hated that name. How much it hurt him when he had gotten called it. That had been one of their first real phone conversations. Dave stepped forward, his voice going low and menacing. "Don't call him that."

Santana didn't back down, didn't get mad, she stood stalk still, looking at Dave, her brows lowering and eyes narrowing. Dave felt a little cold trickle of fear slid down his back. He shouldn't have said anything about Kurt. Shouldn't have said anything at all. But he'd just gotten so angry. Dave turned his back on the girl and moved back toward his bed. _God damnit!_ Dave always let his mouth get him into trouble.

Santana stepped quickly in front of him, hands placed firmly on his shoulders, keeping eye contact with him. "Get out of my face Lopez!" He spat halfheartedly. He already knew what was going to happen next.

"How long have you liked him?"

Dave wanted to stay angry. He wanted to yell at Santana. Tell her that she was just a stupid dike that didn't know the first thing about him or his problems. But the thing was that she did, she did know about his problems, because she was living her own version of them. And standing there, looking at her, Dave could see the understanding in her face…without any trace of pity. Dave rolled his head to one side, cracking his neck before he sank down to sit on his bed. _Guess it was his turn to share._ "Doesn't matter. A while..."

"How often do you guys talk?"

"Until this week? Almost everyday."

"How long has this been going on?"

"Since the first week of my drinking suspension."

"Dios mio."

"Fucking tell me about it."

Santana sat down next to him, her leg pressed against his. She wrapped her arms around one of his, "Being the runner up sucks."

Dave nodded, "At least you get to run the race."

The corners of her mouth turned up in a rueful smile, "Oh bitch please. Tell me you aren't that retarded?"

Dave turned his head to look at her from the corner of his eye, "What?"

She gave his arm a little nudge with her own. "He totally cares about you."

Dave shook his head, "Don't."

Santana threw her hands up. "Fine, just answer me this. Does he notice when you change tiny little habits?"

Dave didn't really know. Well Kurt had noticed when Dave had to switch to Irish Spring soap because his mom had forgotten which body wash was his favorite. Kurt had said Dave smelled nice. Which was why Dave was still using Irish Spring. "Yeah, I guess."

Santana nodded. Holding one finger up. "Does he seem to always know what is going on in your head unless it's about him?"

"Yes…"_Fucking hell yeah._

"Right." She held up another finger, "So taking that, the fact that he forgave you after everything you did to him, and now the two of you talk to each other like five nights a week and fight like a damn old couple…think about it brain trust." She held up a third and fourth finger and wiggled them at him.

Dave didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think about Kurt actually liking him. Because that only meant one thing… Kurt didn't like him enough. Would probably never like him enough. Which might actually be worse that if Kurt was just oblivious. Dave folded his thick arms over his chest, "Yeah, fine, whatever you say love doctor. But you are also forgetting one very important thing. He's got Blaine. So it's all moot anyway."

"Phhffst. Nothing wrong with a little healthy competition." Santana stood up, moving to stand between Dave's legs, "Prom's in three weeks. You gunna be able to dance?" She poked lightly at his ribs.

Dave grunted and batted her hand away. "Yeah, should be okay."

"Good." Santana unwrapped the towel from her head and shaking out her hair a little, tossed the towel to one side. She walked over to his computer and opened iTunes. Once she found a song she liked she turned back to him. "Okay, so stand up."

Dave looked at her suspiciously, "Why?"

"Cuz we're gonna get our dance on. I want to see what I have to work with here." Santana dragged Dave to his feet and put his hands in the appropriate places. Her hips were so tiny against his hands. They swayed awkwardly around Dave's room for a minute before she said, "Right. So since this is already like muy awkward. How would you dance if I was Kurt?"

Dave dropped his hands. "Why?"

Santana grabbed his hands and shoved them back onto her hips. "Look, I heard you on the phone. Boy sounds super jealous about what we've been doing with each other...Or not been doing. So, the plan is working."

Dave thought about how he would hold Kurt if he got the chance. With the low beat of the music in the background Dave put more pressure on her hips and pulled her closer in, toward his body. With Santana's arms around his neck their faces were now very close. "I thought the plan was about making Britt jealous…"

Santana kept eye contact with him. He thought he could almost hear her heartbeat, he could see where the blood was rushing along under the skin of her neck, it seemed to be keeping time with the music as well. "It's about _our_ problems now. And if we want them to stay jealous then I need to know you can go the distance."

Dave's hand slipped past her hips, resting them on the small of her back. "The distance?"

She brought her face even closer to Dave's so they were barely a hard thought away from each other. "We've both got a lot riding on this. And I need to know you won't bail on me halfway through."

Dave was having trouble focusing on her face since she was so close, but he said, "I'm with you."

"Great." she purred out, "Now show me how you want to kiss him."

Dave pulled away a little, "What?"

There was a flash of something in Santana's eyes. Dave's brain scrambled for a word to describe it; _fear, insecurity, pain, lust? _"Kiss me dumbass."

Dave leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. They were soft, way too soft. Not at all what he remembered Kurt's lips feeling like. He'd kissed a few girls before but this was always the problem, they always kissed so damn soft. Dave pulled away.

Santana gave Dave a look, "That was terrible."

"What do ya want from me? You kiss like a goddamn girl."

She buried her hand in the hair on the back of Dave's head and yanked. "Just pretend I have a dick and kiss me like you fucking mean it."

Something jolted through Dave when she pulled his hair, a sound came out from low in his throat. His hands shot up to either side of Santana's face and he kissed her...this time it wasn't soft, and it wasn't romantic. Dave kissed Santana hard, their teeth clacking together. He poured all his anger, all his frustration into her mouth. And he knew she was doing the same. Every movement of lips, every scrape of his teeth, the feel of her teeth biting down on his lower lip, every little breath, every little sound was a hit, until they let go of each other.

When they let go Santana took a step back, panting. It was a moment before she looked up but when she did she grinned. "Not bad…for a queer jock."

Dave grinned back at her, "Funny, I was gunna say you weren't so bad yourself….for a carpet munching hag." She stepped back into his arms and they swayed gently for a little while longer, her head on his shoulder, before Dave asked in a quiet voice, "Do you really think this is going to work?"

"Yes..." Santana pulled her arms together, holding onto Dave tighter as they danced in slow circles in his room. He didn't realize until she spoke again that Santana was crying but trying to hide it. "It has to."

Dave pulled her into a hug as they danced. He still wasn't convinced. But he wasn't going to say that out loud. Not now. Not ever. Just like he would never tell her that hadn't been how he wanted to kiss Kurt. That was how he had already kissed Kurt. What Dave wanted more than anything, was for Kurt Hummel to kiss him.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Santana had left for the night. And now Dave was alone with his thoughts again. He had tried to numb his brain into submission with Xbox but that wasn't working.

Dave's phone rang.

He looked at the name on the screen and groaned. "Great. Just fucking fantastic." It was Blaine. He was going to get bitched at. He could feel it in his bones. He clicked the answer button, "What's up man?"

"I would love to know why I just had a two hour long phone call with a belligerently upset Kurt."

Dave groaned again, "Hey, look, I'm sorry man. He got on my case about Santana earlier today."

"I gathered that much. Although I don't think he ever used her actual name. But I have to give him bonus points for creative nicknaming."

This was something else that Dave wasn't sure how to process. Blaine was such an amazingly chill guy to talk to. It would have made Santana's schemes so much easier if Blaine was just a douchebag. But ever since they'd worked together on Dave's audition song they'd crossed over a line into...friendship. Dave knew that Blaine knew what was up. And yet Blaine never mentioned it. Never used it against Dave or intentionally rubbed it in his face. Dave liked him all the more for that. "Is he really mad at me?"

Blaine chuckled, "I think he's more pissed off at Santana than he is at you. Did she really hang up on him?"

Dave laughed, remembering it, "Dude, she totally did! The two of them, I'm telling you, way too much sass for one room."

"I know! I'm just waiting for the day they have a total bitch off one against the other. But my money is on Kurt."

"I dunno, I think Lopez could give him a run for his money. But who knows, you could get your wish tomorrow. We should start the betting pool."

"Whoa, there! I said I was waiting for the day, not that I was ready for the ramifications of that day. The aftermath would be bloody and messy." They laughed together for a minute as Blaine smoothly transitioned over to his real question, "How are you doing?"

The change of subject startled Dave into complete honesty, "My ribs hurt. Kurt is probably pissed at me. Oh! And according to the local school gossip I've knocked Santana up." _I'm also in love with your boyfriend. "_Other than that though I'm doing pretty good. How about you?"

"Eh, can't complain. I mean I've got a total jerk-off for a dad but you know. Nothing I can't handle."

"That might be the bitchiest thing I've ever heard to say about another person. Nice job. You dad was a total tool by the way. I know he's your dad and all but just saying...dude was a jack-ass."

"Thanks. But seriously, just for a second, I know how...intense Kurt can be about things. But you have to know that he's just worried about you."

Dave let out a long sigh, "Yeah. I know. Everyone seems to be worried about me."

"It happens when you have people that really care about you."

"Weird. Wanna get on Live and help kill Nazi's with me?"

"Oh Dave, you always know just what to say to a guy."

"Shut up Eyebrows and just sign in."

They hung up and spent the next two hours talking about random shit as they shot things. They had briefly discussed Prom Night plans. Blaine's parents were heading out of town that weekend and he wanted to hire a limo so the glee kids could do the after party at his place. He knew it would be far but his house was big and totally perfect for having an after party at. Dave had said it sounded like a good idea. Then they gone back to killing stuff. Why couldn't everything be this simple?


	9. Set Fire To The Rain

_Wow...this chapter just kept getting longer and longer. But a lot had to happen in it! I hope you all enjoy! And as always thank you so much to everyone that has reviewed and for all the adds and alerts! You've been keeping me motivated!  
_

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**Chapter 9 – Set Fire To The Rain**

_ ~My hands, they were strong, but my knees were far too weak, To stand in your arms without falling to your feet. But there's a side to you that I never knew, never knew. All the things you'd say, they were never true, never true. And all the games you'd play, you would always win, always win. But I set fire to the rain. Watched it pour as I touched your face. ~_

**Tuesday**

Five minutes after the start of lunch Dave walked into the dark choir room. He glanced around and saw Kurt standing on the far side of the classroom. Dave hadn't seen Kurt all day. He would have remembered this outfit… Dave was trying to figure out how Kurt could even get into a shirt made up of that many straps and zippers…well, that and wondering how he got out of it…

Kurt put his hands on his hips, glancing down at himself, "What? Tell me there isn't a stain on here already is there? I swear I can't even walk through a room wearing white without something getting on it."

"You look fine Fancy." _Very fine._ Dave shook his head. _Jesus, what was wrong with him today? _Kissing Santana had brought up some memories. The feel of Kurt's lips, what his skin had felt like under Dave's hands. Dave had never forgotten but given the amount of time the physical memory had faded. But after Sunday...it had all come rushing cleared his throat, "Why do you have all the lights off? And what was with the super secret note in my locker?"

Dave took the scrap of paper out of his back pocket. But Kurt knew what was on it. He'd written it.

_D. Meet me in the choir room at lunch. Alone. K. _

Dave slipped it back into his pocket.

"I know it was a bit melodramatic. But I wanted to talk to you alone. Without everyone knowing that I did."

Dave stepped farther into the room, "Okay. So you got me now. What's up?"

Kurt looked over at Dave, biting his lower lip. He had wanted to talk to Dave face to face since yesterday but they hadn't really had the chance to talk. It was hard getting Dave alone now that he had Santana basically surgically attached to him. The only time when Santana wasn't around Dave was surrounded by football players, which made things even more difficult. The note had been his only option. He'd made sure to wait until the hallway was clear before dropping it in.

Dave walked through a bar of light from one of half open the windows; he was wearing a dark blue t-shirt that actually fit him. It had always driven Kurt crazy that Dave seemed to only wear clothes a size too big for him but this shirt…and the way it hit his arms…

"Is that a new shirt?"

Dave looked down, he hadn't even thought about what he threw on this morning. His mom had brought it back from the mall on Saturday for him. He'd thought it was too small. She'd disagreed. "Yeah, my mom got it for me."

Kurt smiled and wondered what he would be wearing if he let his dad or Carol shop for him. "She did a nice job. It looks good on you."

Dave saw Kurt's smile and made a mental note to ask her where she bought it. "Thanks…" Dave waved a hand toward Kurt "I like your shirt too. I have no idea how you got into it but I like it…"

"Thank you." Kurt glowed with pride. _Not because Dave had just complimented him…_with the amount of effort he put into his clothing choices, and the amount of money he spent, it was always nice when someone appreciated it. _That was it._

A silence fell between the two boys. Dave was waiting for Kurt to tell him why he was there. Kurt had spent a lot of time thinking about Sunday. About how mad he'd gotten. This was the second time he'd done it. They would be going along fine until Dave did something that Kurt didn't agree with. He didn't want to fight with Dave. All Kurt wanted to do was help. _Dave had to know that, right? Why am I so nervous? _

Kurt gently opened and closed his hands against his legs, thinking of what he wanted to say exactly. Usually he wasn't so nervous. But ever since Blaine had said that Dave had a crush on him, he kept over thinking everything he wanted to say, how he should say it. He took a little breath and started, "I get it."

"Great." Dave said, "You get what?"

"The whole Santana thing. I get it."

_ Sure you do._ Dave thought to himself. But Kurt hadn't been finished...

The slender boy began walking around the room as he spoke, "You aren't ready to come out to the whole school. And after the hospital and everyone finding out you were feeling worried… so that's when we que the beard to enter stage left, played by a certain Ms. Santana Lopez. Who, as a glee club member understands, but who has the most flexible…morals…of all of us. She's the perfect candidate." Kurt stopped moving, ending his meandering rout and thought train through the room in front of Dave, "So, I get it now. I just wish you could have chosen a girl who hadn't legally changed her middle name to home-wrecker."

Dave looked at Kurt quietly for a minute, watching the boy as he shuffled his feet back and forth, scuffing the toes of his knee-high lace up boots. Dave remembered those boots. When Kurt looked up at him with those big blue eyes Dave just shook his head, "Why do we always end up fighting?"

Kurt shrugged, "If you'd just realize everything I do is to help you then maybe we wouldn't so much."

"Or, maybe we won't when you figure it out that you're too damn stubborn to deal with the fact that I am not going to listen to you all the time."

Kurt shrugged again, stepping forward. He readjusted his messenger bag, before moving to stand beside Dave. "So," He tilted his head slightly up to look at the taller boy. "Are we okay?"

Dave looked over at Kurt. He put his hands into his pants pockets to stop himself from hugging the smaller boy. "Yeah, We're good."

Kurt smiled, "Good." _Should I hug him? I want to hug him. Would that be bad at school? Too much? Quick! Do something! He's starring at you…_ Kurt leaned in and gave Dave a playful nudge with his shoulder. _There, that's a good, non-threatening friend gesture._

Dave had thought that Kurt was going to hug him, he had stopped his arms just in time. He tried not to feel too disappointed, he'd content himself with the contact he got. Dave swung his head toward the hallway, "Come on."

Kurt starred at Dave for a moment. _Together? _They had always avoided walking around next to each other, "Is it okay?"

Dave knew what Kurt meant. Kurt had always been so careful for him. But right now, at this moment, Dave just didn't care. "Just come on. I'm hungry."

Kurt didn't wait to be asked again. He walked out of the classroom next to Dave.

They walked down the hallway toward the cafeteria together and Kurt glanced over to the bigger boy beside him, Dave had his hands in his pockets, walking easily and talking in a relaxed tone. Just like it was the most normal thing in the world for Kurt Hummel and Dave Karofsky to walk down a hallway in McKinely next to each other. _Blaine had to be wrong. _Dave seemed so relaxed, when Kurt had that crush on Finn he was anything but relaxed, same thing happened when he was crushing on Blaine... His hands got sweaty and his stomach always tied up in knots... Kurt wiped his damp palms against his pants unconsciously. Kurt felt like people were looking at them but Dave didn't seem to notice. _Maybe Dave just felt that secure now…with Santana helping him out…_ Kurt wondered if this whole Santana/Dave thing might not be such a bad thing after all. Kurt smiled to himself then glanced back to Dave, only to see him looking at Kurt expectantly.

"Did you ask me something?"

Dave chuckled, "Yeah. I wanted to know if Blaine had pitched his Prom after party idea to you?"

"Of course! I have the whole thing planned out."

Dave rolled his eyes but kept smiling, "Why does this not surprise me?"

"Shh!" Kurt said waving a hand in front of himself, "Okay, so three hours before the dance the girls will come over to my house to finish prepping. Because my bathroom has the best lighting. Two hours before the dance the boys should gather and wait downstairs. A few light refreshments will be provided. Then we will do corsage moments and the obligatory parent paparazzi deal. We will take the limo graciously provided by Blaine's mother to the dance as a group. Have our wonderful Prom moments, clap for Prom King and Queen -good luck by the way. Then around an hour before the dance ends we cut out back to the limo. When we will all head up to Blaine's, have an amazing after party, then spend Sunday eating saltines and drinking smart water to recover."

"Sounds like you have this all figured out."

"Party planning has always been a gift of mine." They reached the cafeteria and Kurt turned to face Dave, "Well, I guess I'll see you in French."

Dave looked confused, "Why? Where are you going?" Dave took a step toward where Santana was sitting with Mercedes, Blaine and a few of the other glee kids.

"You're sitting with us?"

"I'd never hear the end of it from Santana if I didn't. I sat at the football table yesterday. She'd tear me a new one."

"Oh, well come on then." Kurt turned and strutted over to the table, Dave only a step or two behind. Dave slowed down so he could sneak a few covert looks at Kurt's butt in those pants. He realized how stupid that was and turned his head to look around the rest of the cafeteria.

Dave saw a few of the guys at the football table, he gave Azimio and them a friendly nod. Azimio nodded back. A few of the boys made gestures at Santana and gave Dave knowing looks. Dave just shrugged his shoulders. They didn't make any comments about Kurt. Right at that moment Dave was convinced that Santana's entire plan was pretty damn genius.

Kurt sat down between Blaine and Mercedes. Blaine brushed his lips over Kurt's temple. Dave sank down next to Santana. Blaine gave Dave a questioning look: _Everything okay?_ Dave nodded back.

Santana's hand found its way to Dave's thigh and squeezed. Dave looked at her and looped an arm around her shoulders. He could hear the football players making lewd noises in the background. Santana's hand didn't stop moving. It inched its way up his inner thigh, higher and higher until it brushed over his crotch.

Dave jumped, banging his knees on the table, "Jesus woman!" he hissed under his breath, "We're in the cafeteria!"

"Exactly." Santana laughed, "Like you don't like the attention."

Dave glanced around the table, sending everyone into hasty conversations to avoid the fact that they had all been starring at him. Except Kurt. Kurt was looking daggers at the dark haired girl next to Dave. He put his head down and gave her a sly smile.

Blaine looked away from Dave and Santana over to Kurt. He brought his mouth close to Kurt's ear and whispered, "You know they say scowling like that will give you premature wrinkles."

Kurt's face went blank. _Had he been scowling?_ He could feel Blaine's fingers dance across his arm and hand. He forcibly turned his attention back to his boyfriend. He was only upset that Santana was using Dave's predicament as an excuse to basically sexually assault him in public. He wanted to defend his friend, that's why he had had the intense and burning urge to rip all her hair out. _Santana is Dave's beard. I have nothing to be jealous about._ Kurt's eyes went wide. _Jealous? Where had that word come from? _Kurt was most definitely NOT jealous of Santana…

**Friday. One week before Prom**

The last weeks seemed to have just disappeared. Turns out time did fly when you were having fun. Which struck Dave as extremely unfair. Life was pretty good, and he wanted it to stay that way. Practice, friends, home, even glee; it all seemed to be meshing so well lately. The only major drama at the moment was this whole Prom Queen non-sense, more specifically, Quinn, Lauren and Santana. Who would have known having a fake girlfriend would be so much damn work? He'd actually had to pick Santana up and carry her out of a hair-pulling contest she'd started with Quinn last week over someone's fliers being posted over the others. Dave had ended up with a bruise on his shin that proved that Quinn still had a pretty vicious kick...she had been a cheerleader after all.

Finn, Puck and Dave had been complaining about the entire situation while they were in the weight room together a few days later. Finn thought that tiara's gave off special pheromones that made certain girls go crazy. Dave just thought women were crazy to begin with. Puck agreed with Dave.

All three of them wanted some fucking peace. So they'd come up with a plan...

Which was why Dave and Santana were sitting in his house watching TV at the moment. They were meeting up with Finn, Quinn, Puck, Lauren, Kurt and Blaine for dinner in a little while. The boys had decided that they wanted the girls to call a truce so the limo ride over next week wouldn't turn into a blood bath. Kurt and Blaine had been invited because, as Finn put it, _gay guys understood women better._ Dave had laughed out loud at that. Finn had the decency to blush a bit and apologize. But Dave had actually been more flattered that Finn had forgotten that Dave way gay or bi, or whatever people thought he was now. If Finn had forgotten then maybe the rest of the school would never know either. Then again Finn forgot a lot of stuff...like his own phone number. Dave had told Finn that it was a good plan and that he'd go along with it. Any reason to get to hang out with Kurt was good with him. But he hadn't said that part out loud.

Santana had been making progress of her own. She wouldn't give up the details but she'd had a little bit of a spring in her step for the last few days. Dave had seen her and Brittany talking in the hallway on Wednesday though, and they had been standing very close to each other.

Dave looked over at Santana, "Hey Lopez?"

"Hmm?" She didn't look away from the TV.

"Do you ever wonder if we're not really gay?"

Santana turned her head slowly to look at Dave. "What're you talking about?"

Dave rolled the back of his head along the top of the couch, "Maybe we're just in love with someone that happens to be the same sex as us."

Santana thought about that for a second, "Doesn't that mean we're gay though?"

"What if the next person we fall in love with is a different sex?" Although in his brain Dave couldn't think about what it would be like to not be in love with Kurt Hummel. But Dave also knew that he was seventeen years old, there was a chance that he might fall in love with someone new one day. Especially if Kurt never figured it out. Which he wasn't really holding his breath for. Dave couldn't pine away for Kurt forever…could he?

Santana turned her body, so that she was sitting Indian style on the couch next to Dave, "I think that means we'd be Bi…" she glanced over at the TV, "You know ta solve this we could just look through your porn stash."

Dave gave out a little snort, "I dunno. I've got a lot of random stuff in there. Two words. Pterodactyl. Porn."

"That sounds hideous."

"It's actually pretty funny."

"Have you ever had sex with a girl?"

Dave closed his eyes. She was so damn direct. Which was nice sometimes. But every now and then it gave him whiplash. He kept his head back, "No. Fooled around with a few. But never got to the sex part."

She put a hand on Dave's arm, "So you're a virgin?" Dave didn't answer the question. Which was answer enough. She patted his arm for a minute before saying, "If you ever want to know what being with a girl is like... I wouldn't mind helping you out."

Dave thought about making a joke out of it, but turning to look at her he saw something in her face that made him decide against it. He put a hand over where hers were on his arm, "Thanks. But to be totally honest, I know what the mechanics are and they don't interest me at all."

Santana patted his arm again, "And that's how we know you're gay."

Dave let out a loud, barking laugh, he rolled his head back over to look at Santana, "Touche. So what color dress are you wearing?"

Santana jumped at the new topic, "Red. I'll mail you a photo of the color so you can match it."

"Cool. What kind of flowers do you like?" Santana looked at Dave. "It's for the corsage, I wanna make sure I pick out a good one. That matches and looks good against your skin and stuff."

She gave him a warm smile. It made her look younger, Dave thought the smile looked good on her, "You know Karofsky, you can actually be pretty sweet."

Dave sat up and put a finger over his lips, looking around the room in an exaggerated manner, "Shh! Keep that shit down! It'll ruin my rep."

The smile on Santana's mouth got wider, she made a zipper motion across her mouth, "Your secret is safe with me. So are you taking me out to eat or what? I'm fucking starving."

"God, you're pushy. I don't know why most guys choose to do this shit with girls."

"Karofsky, your gay's showing again."

"Whatever. Come on. We're gunna be late."

**Prom Night**

It felt like they had been sitting in this damn room forever! Dave drummed his hands against his knees and looked at the rest of the guys. Mike and Sam were practicing some sort of dance move over by the fire place, Finn was sitting, eyes closed, across from where Dave was on the couch, Dave was pretty sure Finn was asleep. Puck was teaching Artie the best way to whip a pair of aviator's on and off as quickly as possible. The parents were gathered in the living room next door, laughing and probably reminiscing about their proms or something like that. Dave caught a glimpse of his dad talking to Burt Hummel. Before he had a chance to start worrying about what they were talking about there was a movement next to him on the couch. Dave turned his head to see Blaine sitting next to him. The boy was dressed simply, a well fit black tux, with a black vest and, skinny black tie. It worked well on him.

"How you holding up?" he asked.

"I'm so fuckin' board man. Tell me that they're almost done."

Blaine laughed, tossing an arm over the couch and resting it on Dave's shoulder, "I could always ask Carol to go up and spy for us."

Dave got hopeful before he thought about how pissed Kurt would be at being rushed."Ask me again in like five minutes. Cuz I don't know how much more of this I can take. I feel like I'm sweating in this monkey suit."

Blaine took a second to look Dave up and down, "Well, if you are, it doesn't show. You look great."

"Thanks, you too."

It was another agonizingly slow ten minutes before Kurt called down the stairs, "Okay! We're coming down now!"

The boys all breathed a sigh of relief and shuffled into the hallway. Crowding in with the parents that had come along, camera's in hand.

They came down in a row and thankfully Santana was one of the first. And...damn. Dave might be gay but he wasn't dead. Santana looked like a total knock out in her dress. It danced the line between daring and scandalous but paired with her hair and her attitude it worked flawlessly. Dave extended a hand for her take as she got to the bottom of the stairs. "You look awesome." He whispered in her ear.

She grinned at him as they moved to the side so that the others had space to come down the stairs, "Thank you. You look pretty snazzy yourself."

"It's kind of hard to fuck up red and bla..."

Kurt was coming down the stairs followed by Mercedes and Rachel. And he looked..._beautiful._ Not that Dave was surprised, Kurt always looked amazing but Kurt Hummel in formal wear was an entirely different was starring at Kurt but it was a moment before he realized that Kurt was starring right back at him.

Kurt had been nervous for the last three hours. Getting ready upstairs with the girls hadn't help calm his nerves down either. He'd gone through hundreds of outfit choices for his tux but hadn't found something that really spoke to him. Then at almost the eleventh-hour he'd seen it. His Prom outfit. It was simple but still head-turning, it was perfect. The girls had confirmed that it had been the right choice when he debuted it to them.

"Blaine is going to die when he sees you." Rachel said, hugging him.

Kurt had descended the stairs with the intention of finding Blaine's face as he came down. But his eyes didn't find Blaine immediately and they had, of their own accord, gravitated to the splash of red down below. It was Dave. Dave was in a black suit with a black shirt, a deep red vest and tie. Kurt wondered to himself if Dave's mom had helped him with the fit again because it was good. Very good. Kurt's eyes continued up to Dave's face. Dave was starring at him. Kurt could feel the heat rise up his face, he knew he was blushing. Kurt watched as Santana looked between the two and putting a hand under Dave's chin, closed his gaping mouth. She grinned at Kurt and winked.

Kurt almost laughed but managed to keep it in. That's when he caught sight of Blaine, moving through the taller boys to come stand by the head of the stair case. Kurt gave Dave one more little smile and turned to look at Blaine. Who looked spectacular and was gazing up at him with such warmth Kurt could tell he was blushing again.

"You look beautiful." Blaine said, taking Kurt's hand and walking with him out the front door into the yard where it had been decided pictures would be taken.

Kurt lifted a pink carnation and put it in Blaine's jacket."So do you."

Everything went according to Kurt's plan. The corsages, the photos. Then they had been gathered together for a group photo. Somehow in the shuffle Kurt and ended up standing on the end next to Dave for one shot. Kurt wanted to say something to Dave but at that moment Burt yelled, "Get closer together! I don't have you all in the shot."

Dave, brought his arm up over Kurt's shoulders. He could feel Kurt's arm around his waist. "You look really nice." The words had tumbled out of Dave's mouth before he could stop himself. Dave had wanted to tell Kurt that he looked gorgeous or stunning or something less lame than nice. He inwardly groaned to himself. _Fucking smooth. _

Kurt glanced up at Dave's face, his stomach suddenly full of butterflies, "You do too."

Then, the group was breaking up again, moving toward the limo, Dave realized he still had his arm around Kurt. And, more importantly, Kurt still hand his arm around Dave's waist. They looked at each other, surrounded by the clamor of laughter and movement. Then Dave let his arm drop and he stepped away. Moving over to where Santana was standing next to Brittany.

Kurt smoothed down pretending to mess with his jacket, trying to hide the look on his face from everyone. Blaine came up and wrapped his arm around Kurt's waist, hugging him, "You ready for tonight?"

Kurt watched Dave talk with Santana. Dave saw him and gave him a bright smile. Kurt smiled back and then pulled Blaine into a full hug, pressing his face against the other boy's, "It's going to be a great night."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

So far the night had been everything Kurt could have ever hoped for. The dance, the music, the atmosphere, it had all combined together perfectly. He'd been dancing what felt like non-stop since he arrived. So when he finally found the chance he excused himself to go the bathroom.

As Kurt was on his way back to the dance floor someone grabbed his shoulder, spinning him around. Kurt looked up to see that it had been Azimio that had grabbed him. Kurt folded his arms defensively, "What do you want?"

"Yo, chill out Fancy."

Kurt flinched at the use of Dave's nickname for him. From Dave's mouth it had become a compliment, hearing it from someone else just felt wrong and intensely invasive. "You, don't get to call me that."

Azimio just shrugged, "Whatever. I need you to come with me."

"What? Why?" Kurt's quickly wondered if anything had happened to Dave, but no, he'd only been gone a few minutes and last time he checked Dave was dancing with Blaine and Santana.

Azimio said, "It's about Dave."

Kurt's arms tightened, "Fine. But, if this is some kind of trick I swear on all that you find sacred I will make you pay for any dry cleaning bills incurred this night." Kurt gestured with his hand and Azimio took off at a brisk walk. Kurt had to almost jog to keep up. They turned a corner to find Jacob Israel tied up on the ground with his own microphone cord. Kurt ran over to the prone boy looking up at Azimio, "Did you do this?"

"Of course I did it. I didn't want the little gossip hound to run away before I got back with you."

Jacob whimpered lightly, "I wouldn't leave! Not before the biggest bombshell in McKinely High news this whole year!"

That got Kurt's attention. "What? What are you talking about?"

Jacob wiggled around so that he was sitting now, facing Kurt, "Word on my blog says that you and your dapper hobit aren't the only fairies in Neverland anymore."

Kurt's face went cold and angry. _Who the hell would have said something? Not anyone in Glee. Not Azimio. Who else would have known? _"Is that right?"

Jacob got braver, talking a bit louder, "You should know."

Azimio nudged the boy with his foot, "Just tell him what you asked me."

Kurt was beginning to feel sick.

Jacob cleared his throat, "I just...said..." But he couldn't finish.

Azimio sighed heavily and said it for him, "He told me that his subscribers wanted to know if I was still comfortable being best friends with Dave Karofsky even though he's as gay as the Fourth of July. Or if I had anything to say about his secret love affair with you."

Kurt's head swam, his stomach flip-flopping. _Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Not tonight. Not now. _Kurt bent down so that he was very close to Jacob, pressing his face very close into the other boys, "Where on Earth did you get this from?"

Jacob shook his head, "I can't say. My sources must remain anonymous."

Azimio came over to Jacob and balled his fists. Kurt stood up and waving at the bigger boy said, "No. Don't. I want to know where a crazy rumor like that even came from. Do you even have any proof?"

Azimio cracked his knuckles, "I can make him say."

Kurt gave Az a tired look, "Just calm down of a second Captain Kill."

"I am calm." Azimio said bunching his fists again.

Kurt turned back to Jacob, "First of all Jacob, cut your hair, you look like the demon love child of Andy Samberg and Phil Spector. And secondly, I don't know how long I can keep him from rearranging your face. Just a warning. "

"It's was Coach Sylvester!" Jacob yelped. "She broke the story to me."

Kurt let out a nervous laugh, "She would say or do anything to attack the glee club."

Jacob gave Kurt a look, "My back pocket. Take out the paper in it."

Kurt reached over and gingerly took out the paper, it was a copy...of the note he'd written Dave over three weeks ago.

_D. Meet me in the choir room at lunch. Alone. K._

"She gave me that. With a promise of further conformation of some kind to happen tonight during the crowning ceremony."

"Oh, dear, God." _How had she gotten that note? It was all his fault. _Kurt tried to find a clock, but see one anywhere. He also had no idea at what time the would announce the King and Queen. All he did know what that he had to get to Dave now, before whatever Coach Sylvester planned happened. Kurt took off at a run.

Azimio yelled after Kurt, "What do I do about him?" Nudging Jacob with his foot again.

Kurt stopped and turned for a second, "Just leave him where he is. He can't do any damage from there." He took off running again.

"Sorry. You heard the man." Azimio said giving a small shrug. "And just between you and me. If you write anything about Dave Karofsky without getting my approval first... I'll make you wish you'd never been born." With that Azimio stood up and followed in the direction that Kurt had gone.

Kurt got into the auditorium just in time to see Figgin's moving toward the front of the podium, two envelopes in his hands. Coach Sylvester standing a little to one side. _Oh no! _Kurt weaved his way through the crowded gym, looking for Dave. Figgin's was making a speech about school pride and not going to cheap motels after the prom. Something about how often the comforters were cleaned and herpes... _Maybe I'll make it. Maybe I'll have enough time. _After all if Dave wasn't in the gym then maybe whatever Sue had planned couldn't happen. _Maybe. _

Kurt finally saw Dave just as Figgin's opened his first envelope, "...Our 2010-2011 Junior Prom King is...Dave Karofsky!" Kurt shut his eyes. _That wasn't so bad. That was okay. _But his stomach dropped as Dave moved up to the stage in front of the gym, surrounded by applause.

Kurt found Blaine and grabbed his arm saying in a fast undertone, "Coach Sylvester knows about Dave. She's planned something bad for him or me or both of us. What do we do?"

Blaine looked to Kurt then up to Dave on the stage, his eyes wide and worried. "I don't know. I don't know what we can do. Pull a fire alarm?"

"Last time we did that in a crowded gym we almost had student deaths. And there are a lot more girls wearing heels tonight than the last time. Not to mention it's across from where we are, I'd never get there in time."

"I don't know Kurt. Oh, man."

Kurt looked up at Dave trying to get his attention and get him to step off. But to no avail.

Figgin's continued, "And now to announce your Prom Queen...Coach Sylvester."

There was a smattering of halfhearted applause as the Cheer Coach came onto the stage. "I could stand up here and tell you the time that I beat out Tyra Banks for Prom Queen back in my days as a young model in California but I figure you just want to cut to the chase." She paused for a moment to open the envelope in her hand. But she didn't even look at the paper. "You're 2010-2011 Prom Queen is...Kurt Hummel." There were a few uncomfortable laughs. Kurt's feet had frozen to where he stood. Eyes going wide and helpless.

Figgin's ran up to the mike, "Wait a moment, there seems to be a small mistake. Please wait children while we sort this out." He looked at the paper.

Sue took the mike back over, "It seems that we had an incredible number of write in votes this year. Porcelain, if you are indeed still in the building come up here and accept your tiara so these sweaty masses can go back to grinding and gyrating against each other. Your king is waiting." More laughter.

Blaine took Kurt's hand, "You don't have to go up there. You don't owe them anything."

Kurt looked at Blaine, "I can't just leave Dave up there like that." Kurt squared himself and walked quickly toward the stage. His brain scrambling for what he could do once he was up there. As he climbed the stairs he saw the humiliation in Dave's eyes. It killed Kurt to see that look in Dave's face. And then he got an idea...

Dave felt so lost. He had no where he could go. Nothing he could do or say. He couldn't even be angry. All he wanted to do was vanish. _Maybe this was Karma? _

Kurt walked right past Dave and taking the proffered tiara and scepter with slightly shaking hands, he did not put them on but held them in his hands as he turned to the mike. "I think it's traditional for the Prom Queen to make a speech." Kurt glanced quickly over to Dave. "I would love to make a speech about how progressive this school is for voting for two Prom _Kings_. But I know that I'm only up here as a joke. But there is no way anything could ruin this night for me. Can a Mr. Blaine Anderson come up here please?"

Kurt could see Blaine, the crowd was parting around him, letting him through, he climbed the stairs and gave the student body an awkward little wave. He turned to Kurt, looking at him expectantly.

Kurt spoke back into the mike, "You're just small people, in a small town, destined to live small lives. You think it would humiliate me to dance with Karofsky? You think I'm ashamed of who I am? Well, watch this!" He grabbed Blaine's jacket and crushed his mouth against the other boys. He deepened the kiss as the gym erupted in whistles, hoots and a few cat calls. The glee club cheered.

Figgin's came back, taking the microphone away from Kurt, and trying to regain control of the situation. Kurt finally let go of Blaine, who looked rather kiss-dazed at the moment. Kurt turned to Figgin's hands were the mike now was, "Well if you really all voted to see me dance with Karofsky then I don't want to disappoint you."

Figgin's was obviously at a loss at how to handle the situation. "Kurt Hummel. I will see you in my office on Monday morning."

Kurt nodded at the Principal. He grabbed Dave's hand and forcibly dragged the bigger boy toward the dance floor. Once they were off the stage Dave hissed out of his clenched teeth, "What the hell was all that?"

"What do you think they are going to remember more? Two boys dancing, one of which may or may not be gay, or the sight of two boys making out on a stage at school? So, now just shut up and go with it."

Dave really wanted to shut up and go with it. More than anything. He was just so grateful for not being up on that stage anymore. Kurt had probably just gotten himself into a load of trouble and it had all been to save Dave's ass. But as they passed a group of girls they lifted their hands to whisper something to each other and laugh.

Dave pulled his hand out of Kurt's. Kurt turned to look at him but Dave walked as quickly as he could out of the gym. Blaine came up to stand beside Kurt, taking his hand. "That was a total ninja kiss you pulled on me up there."

"I'm so sorry."

"That's okay. It was pretty hot."

Kurt blushed.

Blaine pressed his forehead to Kurt's and asked, "Do you want me to go after him?"

Kurt nodded once and Blaine took off after Dave. Mercedes came up to hug Kurt. He hugged her back, still looking at the doors where Blaine Dave had walked out.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Dave hadn't gone far. Just down a hallway before he punched a random locker. The pain was sharp and immediate. He punched again. When he felt a hand on his arm he spun around, fists raised. Dave had the other boy against the wall before he could see that it was Blaine. Blaine's eyes were wide and frightened. Dave dropped his hands. _Oh shit!_ "Oh man! I'm so sorry."

Blaine stepped away from the wall. He took a deep breath, smoothing down his jacket, "It's okay. No harm done."

Dave sank down onto the ground.

Blaine sat down next to him, "Come back to the dance."

Dave shook his head, "I can't. I just, I can't. Did you seem them?"

Blaine flattened his lips into a thin, hard line, "Don't let them ruin tonight. I know how you feel. I know exactly what you are feeling right now. And don't let them do this to you."

Dave just kept shaking his head. "You can't know."

Blaine stood up, "Bullshit! You don't know what I had to deal with before Dalton. No one knows. The bullying, the whispers, the bruises, the pranks. Look at me!"

Dave looked up at Blaine. He had never seen the shorter boy so upset.

Blaine looked Dave right in the eye, "Fuck 'em! Kurt is right. They're small people. They're nothing." Blaine held out a hand to Dave. Dave looked at it for a moment before taking it and letting Blaine help him to his feet. "You have what? A year before all these people will become non-entities. They'll just disappear. Become nothing but slightly unpleasant memories that you will learn to push away."

Blaine had tears in his eyes. Dave had never seen that before. He wasn't sure what to say to the shorter boy. He had come out here to help Dave. And Dave knew why he was doing it. Because Blaine was making up for the fact that he'd never had anyone come after him.

The hug surprised both of them. But Dave and held on until Blaine had hugged him back.

They stepped back from each other and Blaine said, "Go back in there and show them that one dance with one guy doesn't change who you are. "

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kurt had been sitting watching the other people dance. Waiting for Blaine and Dave to come back. Or maybe it would only be Blaine? Dave had nowhere to go though. He had to come back with them in the limo. Kurt had given his tiara to Quinn to wear. He loved tiara's but he didn't want that one. Blaine sat down in front of him. They looked at each other, Kurt too worried to ask. Blaine nodded behind Kurt. Kurt turned around and saw Dave, hands in pockets, shuffling his feet.

"You still want that dance?"

Kurt tilted his head, "Well, it is tradition."

"Come on then."

They weren't dancing alone, the glee kids had all come with them. And once they had started dancing more couples began drifting to the dance floor. Dave saw Santana dancing with Blaine before they got swallowed up in the crush of people. The music changed, slowing down.

Kurt stood there, arms still on Dave's shoulders, he was surprised at how breathy his voice was when he said, "You don't have to dance with me Dave."

Dave's hands tightened on Kurt's waist, "I want to."

Kurt's eyes widened a little as they began to move again. The song was sappy and romantic and had never been one of Kurt's favorites but he could barely focus on anything besides the feel of Dave's arms around him, of those large hands on his hips. Kurt's mouth went completely dry.

Dave thought about when he and Santana had danced in his room, weeks ago. _How would you dance with him? _Dave looked around the gym floor, they were mostly surrounded by a sea of couples, who only had eyes for each other, _Fuck it._ Dave moved his hands to the small of Kurt's back, pulling him in closer.

Kurt made a noise when Dave's hands had spread out across his back, pulling him in. Kurt readjusted his arms so that they were now around Dave's neck. His heart was pounding in his ears. He was hyper aware of everything Dave, the smell of Dave's cologne, the feel of the jacket fabric against his palms, and every now of then the feel of skin as Kurt's fingers brushed against the back of Dave's neck.

"Hey, Fancy. Look at me." Dave said in Kurt's ear. Kurt couldn't help the shiver that ran down his spine. He knew he shouldn't look up. Something in his head told him not to. But he did. His blue eyes startlingly close to Dave's hazel ones. They looked at each other like, faces inches away. "Thank you." Dave said, giving him a small smile.

Kurt smiled back and suddenly caught himself wondering what it would be like to close that distance and kiss Dave Karofsky. He wanted to kiss Dave. And not in a just friends way. The way Dave was looking at him Kurt knew that Dave wanted to know too. They both leaned in the tiniest bits, closing the remaining distance.

The song changed and Dave dropped his arms. So did Kurt. They both stepped away from each other each breathing a little heavy. Dave turned and walked off the dance floor. Kurt took a step to follow before he was caught up by the other glee club kids. Then he was being wrapped up in Blaine's arms. Kurt said, "I don't know what you said to Dave out there. But whatever it was it worked."

Blaine squeezed Kurt to him. "I don't think he needed that much encouragement to dance with you." He had said it lightheartedly but Kurt had caught the flash of worry in Blaine's eyes. Kurt hugged Blaine to him hard. Trying to press the question of what kissing Dave would be like out of his head.

Finn made his way over and leaning down so Kurt and Blaine could hear him said, "Quinn says that she's ready to leave whenever."

Kurt looked over at Blaine, "Wanna start the after party a little early?"

Blaine took Kurt in his arms and said, "Sounds like an excellent plan."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Blaine's mom had left them three bottles of champagne in the back of the limo with a note that said _You're Only Young Once. There are some surprises in the kitchen fridge for you guys as well. Have a good time and be safe!_ That had been the mood setter for the rest of the night.

Bottles and been passed. Jokes had been told and any unpleasantness had begun to melt away. Kurt's tiara was currently being worn by Lauren while Artie swung the scepter around knightly random people.

Early Dave had put his crown on Blaine saying, "It looks better on you anyway." After that he'd been content to just lay back in one of the large sofa's with a bottle of champagne in his hand, watching the people around him. The kids in glee were much harder partyers than he would have imagined. There wasn't a huge amount of alcohol in the fridge for them. But it was enough for everyone to get buzzed and have a good time though. Blaine's mom must be pretty awesome. Or she was just trying to make up for the fact that her husband was a grade-A douche.

Santana dropped down beside him, laughing. The girls had all thrown off their shoes and had been dancing in the middle of the living room to the music Blaine had turned on.

Suddenly Brittany, who was rather drunk, yelled, "Kurt! Has the best ideas!" she crawled basically into Dave's lap, leaning over him toward Santana, "Ninja kisses are the best!" Then she kissed Santana. Everyone in the room laughed and made a few low whistles. Dave hadn't laughed. He'd helped Brittany back over his lap and passed her over to Artie once she was done. He turned to look at Santana who had a dazed look on her face.

"You okay?"

Santana had giggled, a sound that Dave had never expected to come out of her and then she got up and straddled Dave, whispering against his ear, "That's a total fucking win!" She kissed the side of his face and licked his ear. "Do you want me to do more?"She whispered huskily.

Dave patted her on the thigh and whispered back, "Not right now. I can't get to my drink when you sit on me like this."

She'd rolled off of him and turning to the room she'd yelled, "Who wants to join me in the hot tub?"

There had been some cheering as Santana ran outside, shedding her dress as she went. Tina and Mike had been the first to follow. A few of the others began moving in and out of the room randomly. But Dave stopped paying attention. He'd lost track of Blaine and Kurt a while ago. He was just content to lounge where he was and not do anything other than drink, enjoy his buzz and not think about what the other two boys might be doing with each other.

Kurt had been stunned at the size of Blaine's house. He didn't even know that they built houses this size in Ohio. Some people might think it was weird that they'd been dating for months and yet Kurt had never been to Blaine's house. But after the meeting with Blaine's dad Kurt told Blaine he didn't know if he could be polite if he saw the man again. So they had stuck around Lima and Kurt's house. A glass of champagne in one hand, he wandered around the various hallways looking into darkened rooms. Seeing into Blaine's home was seeing another side to Blaine that he'd never had access to before. He'd known Blaine's family was well off but this was a bit grander than even he had imagined.

Kurt heard Lauren yell from down one of the hallways, "Get your ass in gear Puckerman! Hot tub!"

There were sounds of sliding doors being opened and people moving outside. Blaine had been dragged off by Rachel to help her find something to swim in, since she didn't want to go in her underwear like everyone else.

Kurt kept wandering around from room to room. He would go and join the others outside as soon as he sorted out his head. He took another drink of champagne. He wanted to talk to Dave. More precisely he wanted to kiss now that the thought was in his head he couldn't get it totally out. It didn't make any sense. It was such a strange want. And he didn't know why he wanted it. It wasn't about cheating on Blaine. Kissing Dave was just something he_ needed _to the moment that was the only thing that made total sense to Kurt. He latched onto the idea, if he kissed Dave then they could finally put to rest this whole crazy crush idea that Blaine had talked about. After all Dave had been the one to back off after they were dancing. Dave was also the one that didn't seem to have any problems making out with Santana even though Kurt knew that Dave didn't like her romantically. _This is going to happen. I'm going to kiss Dave tonight. Then everything will be sorted out and fine. No more tension._ Kurt took another drink but his glass was empty. _Weird, didn't I just fill this up?_ Kurt shrugged to himself and walked back toward the kitchen. He re-filled his glass and wandered into the now empty living room. Kurt saw a large, very inviting black leather sofa. As he approached it he saw Dave, champagne bottle hanging loosely in one hand, eyes closed.

Kurt sat down beside Dave letting his body get absorbed by the pillows. "Hey."

Dave's eyes popped open. Turning his head to look at the boy next to him, "Hey yourself." Dave didn't understand the look in Kurt's eyes, but something in them it made him slightly uncomfortable. Kurt looked at him sometimes like he could see his thoughts. It was extremely disconcerting, to have those sharp eyes on him.

Kurt scooted closer to Dave, until he was pressed up against him.

Dave shifted, giving Kurt a bit more room to settle. Dave cleared his throat, " 'never said thank you about tonight."

Kurt wriggled in closer to Dave, "Yeah, you did."

Dave frowned trying to remember if he had or not. His head was feeling all foggy. Dave couldn't tell if it was from the alcohol or from the fact that Kurt's body was pressed up against his. This was the closest Kurt had ever been next to Dave. "I said thank you for dancin' with me. I didn't say thank you for what you did up on stage. You could've just left me up there."

"I wouldn't have done that."

Dave closed his eyes. He just couldn't keep looking at Kurt when the he was that close to him. But with his eyes closed he could feel Kurt's body against his. Dave could feel Kurt's hand inching closer to him. "I know. But sometimes, I don't even know what you're doing, helpin' me. You've always tried to help me."

Kurt drained his nearly full glass. He dropped it against the soft carpet. Sitting up a little so that he was hovering over the larger teenager. He swayed and pitched forward, his mouth nearly against Dave's ear, "I care about you Dave."

Dave had thought that Kurt had left. Or maybe he'd never really been there. Then Kurt's voice was in his ear. Dave could feel Kurt's breath against his face and hair on the back of his neck stood up. Dave didn't want to open his eyes. If he opened his eyes then this whole thing would probably just end up being a dream. He winced as he whispered his next words, "I care about you too."

As the alcohol hit Kurt's head, he looked down at Dave's face. The bigger boy had his eyes squeezed shut. It looked like he was almost in pain. But Kurt could see Dave's heart beat hammering against his neck. Kurt brought his face down so he could breathe in along Dave's neck. Kurt felt Dave shiver under him. He wondered if he could smell the heat that was coming off of Dave's skin. Kurt's hand came up and stroked gently down Dave's face. The feel of the stubble on Dave's chin was rough and felt good against his hand. Dave licked his lips. Kurt watched the movement and then leaned forward and kissed Dave Karofsky.

The feel of Kurt's hand on his face had been so nice. He'd licked his lips, about to tell Kurt how nice it had felt when Dave felt the lips against his. They were warm and soft and absolutely perfect. _Had Kurt Hummel just kissed him? _Dave hadn't moved. hadn't been able to. Until he felt Kurt's tongue pushing lightly, trying to find it's way in. _Oh Christ! This wasn't a dream. _Dave's eyes flew open, it took everything in him to grab Kurt by the shoulders and pull him back. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Kurt."

Kurt opened his eyes lazily, "Hmmm?"

"I think you've had a little bit too much to drink."

Kurt giggled, "Yeah, you're probably right. Sorry about that." Kurt relaxed and slid out of Dave's hands to stretch out along the couch, his head on Dave's thigh, his hand absently running up and down Dave's leg. _See, Dave didn't like him like that. If he did he would've at least kissed back. _Kurt felt very sad that Dave hadn't kissed back. Not because he had wanted Dave to kiss back. _It was just strange to kiss someone when they didn't kiss you back. _"Well, that settles that question then. I knew Blaine wasn't right."

Dave looked down at Kurt. Kurt had actually kissed him. And it had been while they were both drunk. On the same night that Blaine had been the most honest and open with Dave than he had ever been with anyone. And now Kurt was talking about that settling a question of some type he'd had with Blaine? _Fuck! _Kurt had just ruined the one thing that Dave had wished for, fucking longed for with every fiber of his being for so damn long. And Kurt had no damn clue. He got up and walked away from the couch.

Kurt's head dropped to the couch, bouncing slightly at the force. He turned to see Dave walking away. _Where was he going?_ He got up and went after him, grabbing Dave's arm, "Hey, what's wrong?"

Dave looked down at Kurt. He tried not to yell, he didn't want to attract anyone's attention. So he got very close to Kurt's face and bit out his words, "Why would you do that?"

Kurt's mouth dropped open in surprise at the attack of Dave's words, "I..." Kurt looked down at his hands. He hadn't expected Dave to get angry. _Why was he getting so angry? _Kurt wrapped his arms around himself.

"How could you do that to Blaine? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Kurt's head snapped up to glare at Dave, "What the fuck is wrong with me? What's wrong with you? Just for the record I didn't do anything to Blaine. I wanted to know something. And now I know the answer. That was it."

"You wanted to know something? Why the fuck couldn't you have just asked me?"

"Because you wouln't've told me the truth."

"How the hell do you know? I don't even know what the question is!"

"I wanted to know if you had a crush on me."

Dave starred at Kurt, flabbergasted. How could Kurt have thought kissing Dave would have been an appropriate way to ask that question? _Unless Kurt hadn't expected him to kiss back...But what if he had expected Dave to kiss back? What answer had he gotten from Dave not kissing Kurt? That he wasn't hopelessly in love Kurt? GODDAMNIT! _Dave would have loved to kiss Kurt back. To pull him onto his lap and grind against the slender boy and then slip his hand into Kurt's clothes and stroke him until Kurt screamed his name. But he couldn't. He wouldn't do anything to hurt Blaine. Especially not after tonight. "How could you put me...us in a situation like that? You are so goddamn selfish sometimes! You know that?"

Kurt hated being talked to like he was a child. He hated that Dave was making him feel bad about himself. "I'm selfish? Do you really wanna compare notes on the things you've done to me in the past that could be called selfish? Can you say locker room? So, I don't need this! Not from you!"

That had hurt. Dave had done a lot of things to Kurt. But he'd apologized for them. He thought that they'd gotten past them. Become better friends because of it. Kurt was drunk. He wasn't thinking. But Dave was still pissed off, "Fine! Nice to know I made an impression at least! Why don't you go find Blaine, you know, _you're boyfriend,_ and just leave me the fuck alone!" Dave turned away.

Kurt grabbed his arm again. "Wait! I'm talking to you!"

Dave didn't even think about what he was doing. His hands went up to keep Kurt back. Kurt's slow reflexes hadn't stopped him in time. So Dave ended up shoving Kurt backwards. Kurt, who's balance was already off, stumbled into the wall, hitting against it heavily, before he fell backwards. Landing on his back.

Dave looked down at Kurt, horrified. Dave hadn't meant for that to happen. Didn't even know how that could have happened.

Kurt looked up at Dave, equally horrified, his eyes burning with hurt. "You. You, shoved me..."

Dave shook his head, "I didn't...I didn't mean..." But Dave couldn't handle the look in Kurt's eyes. The accusation in them. He turned and ran down the hallway, leaving Kurt on the floor to follow his retreat with that burning blue stare. Dave found an empty bedroom and after he locked the door he paced around the room. _Oh crap! Oh shit! That had gone so bad._ Exhausted he fell onto the bed and passed out.


	10. I Found A Boy

_Fall out from the after party... it's short but don't worry, things are far from over for our boys. Thank you everyone for your response to Prom, I'm so happy that so many of you enjoyed it. Once again a HUGE thank you to for all the adds, reviewers and especially to the faithful reviewers that never fail to keep me so tied up in this story! Enjoy!_

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**Chapter 10 – I Found A Boy**

_ ~Can't help myself, you're too good to be true__.__ I fall short each time,_ _You and your junk creep closer in here, Like a fool for fire I fall, with my pride and all__…~_

As soon as Kurt opened his eyes he regretted it. The sunlight falling across his face felt like it was cutting into his brain. He groaned and tried to move. That's when he felt the arm across his chest, holding him. He pushed the first name that came to his sleep muddled brain away as quickly as it appeared, the second name came a nano-second later…_Blain__e?__._ Kurt flushed then realized that the arm was way too small to be a boy's, not to mention Kurt was pretty sure those were boobs he could feel against his back. _Where had he fallen asleep? _Kurt rolled his head very slowly so he could see where he was…

Mercedes was curled up around him. He rolled his head back and closed his eyes again. Trying to remember everything that had happened last night… Champagne, lots, and lots of champagne. Too much champagne. _This is why I don't drink… _He needed to get up. He needed to move, to think.

Kurt very carefully extracted himself from the girl next to him, being careful not to wake her up. Sitting up he straightened out his back and suddenly winced at the pain and stiffness in his shoulders. _What was that? _Kurt padded barefoot to the closest bathroom. Locking the door he pulled up his undershirt…

There was a huge bruise right on his shoulder blade. He looked at the pattern and suddenly it started coming back…

He'd kissed Dave…

Dave had shoved him into a wall, then run away.

There had been a lot of talking but those details were still a bit fuzzy.

Kurt now remembered what had happened after Dave had run away. Kurt had found Mercedes and dragged her into a bedroom. Where he'd curled up with her and cried in her lap for what had probably been an embarrassingly long time. He hadn't talked about what had happened or why he was upset. At least he didn't remember doing anything other than crying. But he did remember Blaine trying to come into the room and Kurt telling Mercedes that he didn't want to see anyone. They must have fallen asleep after he'd stopped sobbing.

Kurt locked the bathroom door, turned on the shower, and shed the rest of his clothes. He stepped into the hot, almost scalding water, letting it clear away the cobwebs. What had he been thinking? What the hell had been wrong with him? He'd jeopardized his relationship with Blaine, a boy who had left a great school to be with him, for what? To prove that Dave didn't have a crush on him? To prove that Dave did have a crush on him? Which one had he really been hoping for? Kurt closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the cold tile of the shower, letting the water burn down onto his stiff back. _Good to know that champagne makes me act like a total slut._

Kurt knew that he'd been out of line. But that didn't give Dave the right to shove him to the ground. Especially considering where they'd come from. He stood in the shower for a long time trying to clear his head but when he got finally got out things weren't really any clearer. All he knew was that he was angry. He just wasn't sure who he was more pissed off at; Dave or himself. Maybe himself...Okay definitely himself.

Glancing at the clock in the bathroom, the little glowing red numbers told him that it was 6:35am. He considered going back to sleep but he knew that wouldn't happen. He had way too much on his mind. He snuck downstairs and found his overnight bag, rushing back upstairs to change into a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and one of his favorite sweaters. No one else seemed awake yet but he walked softly just in case.

In the kitchen he poured himself a glass of water and then seeing that it was starting to look like a gorgeous sunny morning he decided to go outside and sit on the deck.

Sam was snoring lightly from where he was sleeping in a love seat in the corner. As Kurt moved through the living room he tossed a quick look to the black couch where Dave and he had been the night before. It was occupied but not by Dave…

Santana, was stretched out across some towels on the couch with Brittany lying next to and a little on top of her. Both were wearing bathrobes and Santana had a hand buried in the blond's hair. She was smiling in her sleep like Kurt had never seen her smile before. Kurt didn't even know what to think anymore. He turned quickly and walked outside. Finding a sunny spot he sat down in a deck chair. There was a red dress hanging over the deck railing next to the hot tub.

Kurt cuddled into his sweater; he wasn't sure what to do.

The sound of the sliding door opening and closing attracted his attention. He was about to turn around and say good morning to however else was awake so early. But once he heard the voice he couldn't move. _Dave._

"Hey Mom...Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I had a...really good time."

Kurt winced at the pauses in Dave's voice.

"I wanted to know if you or dad can come get me? Yeah, I know it's early. But I have a ton of homework. Okay. Thanks. See you soon."

Kurt couldn't stay hiding anymore. He spoke first, "You were just going to leave before everyone else woke up?" Then turned his head to look at Dave.

"Christ!" Dave said jumping. "You freaked the shit out of me."

"Sorry."

The silence was heavy and awkward. Dave wouldn't even look at Kurt. That hurt, a lot. Kurt stood up and walked over to Dave. Dave stepped back away from him. That hurt even more.

Kurt tried to come toward Dave again. Dave raised a hand, "Don't." Kurt stopped moving.

Dave didn't want Kurt to touch him. Dave knew he wouldn't be able to take it. If Kurt tried to apologize...If he had to listen to Kurt rehash the whole event to him... If Kurt told him that it was just a stupid drunken mistake...Dave just couldn't take it. So he deflected, "Are you okay?"

Kurt looked up at Dave's face again, Dave still wasn't looking at him. _No, not if we're not. _It took Kurt a minute to figure out that Dave was probably referring to the bruise on his shoulder. "A little stiff."

Dave fixed his eyes somewhere over Kurt's head. But at least this way Kurt could see his eyes. They were pained, "I'm really sorry." Dave's eyes flicked to Kurt's then flicked away, "It was an accident...I know that doesn't make it any better...but I just want you to know that."

Kurt nodded and took a tiny step forward while Dave wasn't looking. "I wanted to talk about what I di..."

Dave looked at Kurt and let his eyes stay there. His eyes pinned Kurt to the spot. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"But..."

"No. Kurt. I don't wanna talk it to death. I don't wanna _deal_ with it. It's been dealt with. Let's just chalk it up to us drinking and leave it there." Dave turned to walk back inside.

Kurt watched Dave turn to leave. _What? That's it?_ It couldn't end like that. Why hadn't Dave told him off? Why didn't he say something? "That's it?"

"What else is there?" Dave said his back still to Kurt.

Kurt hated it when Dave sounded deflated, when he just rolled over. It pissed him off. "When you started to get a handle on your anger I didn't think it would turn you into a total push over."

Dave twisted around to face Kurt, "Are you trying to piss me off?"

"No." _Well, maybe a little._ At least Dave was facing him again now.

"Then stop picking a fight with me! Besides me saying sorry for pushing you I don't want to talk about what happened last night." Dave just wanted the whole episode to go away. He turned around again to leave.

Kurt reached out and tried to touch the bigger boys shoulder, "Dave, wait. David!"

At the sound of Kurt using his proper name he'd turned. Kurt barely ever called him David. But the way it had sounded coming out of the singers mouth had made Dave turn around. Kurt's hand had landed on his chest. Their gazes moved in tandem, from the hand on Dave up to each others faces. There was something in Dave's face that made Kurt tremble.

Dave had been hoping no one else would be awake. That he could just grab his stuff and bounce out. That he would have some time to figure out how he wanted to deal with what had happened with Kurt. But, of course, things never went as he hoped they would. _Story of my fucking life._ Of course, Kurt would already be awake. Of course he would be looking at Dave with those eyes of his, so full of hurt and hope. He wanted to answer the question Kurt had had last night. He wanted Kurt to know how much he cared about him. But it couldn't happen. Wasn't going to happen. Not with where they were right now. If and when they ever kissed again, it would be under totally different circumstances. One's that could not be misconstrued as anything other than _I want you, you want me too._ But then Kurt had touched him.

_Fuck my life. _Dave's hands flew up, one gripping the wrist of Kurt's extended hand the other gripping onto the slender boys hip. He spun Kurt around, pushing him up against the wall of the house. His face low and close to Kurt's.

Kurt's heart lept into his throat, followed by a little squeak of surprise, as he spun in Dave's hands, ending up pinned against the wall. He could feel Dave's breath against his face. _He'__d brushed __his__ teeth..._ His wrist was still tightly held by Dave's hand and Kurt could feel Dave's racing heartbeat under his hand. Kurt looked up into Dave's eyes. _They look much greener in direct sunlight. _But Kurt didn't say anything, he didn't move, didn't breath, waiting to see what Dave was going to do next.

Dave stood there wondering what the hell he was going to do next. He knew what he wanted to do. What he'd wanted to do since after that first time in the locker room all those months ago. He looked at Kurt and knew that if he chose to cross that line Kurt might not be totally apposed to the idea. At least that's what the look in his eyes said to Dave, his hands spasmed around Kurt's hip and wrist. _A better man, a better man. If you kiss him now it's all been for fucking nothing. If you put your lips to his you're forcing him to make a choice, a choice that isn't going to be in your favor. Could you do it? Do that to Blaine? Do that to these people who have let you breathe again for the first time in years? If you kiss him now you'll lose all that. You'll be a semi-outed jock at school, without Blaine or Kurt. There'd be no coming back from this. You might as well be back in that goddamn locker room! _Dave shut his eyes, and letting out a shuddering breath let go of Kurt and stepped away.

Dave kept his head down as he began to speak, "I think we need to give each other some space for a while." _Or I'm going to do something that we will both regr__et. _Dave had enough to deal with, without fucking up Kurt's relationships, or his own for that matter.

Kurt didn't understand what Dave had meant, "David?" he whispered the name. _Had __he__ really broken it? _This strange thing that the two boys had shared with each other for months now. Was it really falling apart? Had Kurt irrevocably shattered this fragile thing they had built so carefully between them?

Dave didn't look up, "I just need to be left me alone for a bit. I know you feel bad about what happened. And...and so do I." he swallowed thickly, "I'll call or text you when I'm ready to talk again. I really need you to respect this." Dave knew that it would be terribly hard but he also knew that he needed to give Kurt time to forget, to ease back into the way things were before. Because Dave knew he needed Kurt's friendship, and more surprisingly he wanted to keep Blaine's as well. _I've gone totally fucking soft. _But if this was the only way to ensure that this would happened then, this was just the way it had to be.

Kurt was tearing up. He couldn't help it. "Dave, please." Dave couldn't be leaving. Kurt hadn't gotten the chance to apologize, to tell him that he wished he could take it back. The prospect of suddenly not having Dave in his life anymore made him feel lost, gutted. Dave needed to know that. But Kurt couldn't form words around the hot lump in his throat. And really, he had no idea what he would say.

Dave turned and said over his shoulder, "I'm going to wait in the front for my parents. They should be here soon. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

And with the soft sound of the slider opening and closing he was gone. Leaving Kurt on the deck shivering slightly even though the morning sunlight was warm.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

After Dave had left Kurt had busied himself in Blaine's kitchen. It had everything he needed to make pancakes and eggs. Hopefully Blaine's parents wouldn't mind, cooking, having a goal was really helpful at the moment. Kurt was wondering if he should tell Blaine what had happened. It would probably be better if he told Blaine, just put all the cards on the table and told him exactly what had happened and why. _It had been the alcohol's fault anyway. And all the heightened emotions of the dance._ He always ended up telling Blaine everything anyway. That's why they were such good friends, they could tell each other anything. But Kurt thought that maybe he should just wait a little while first. Just sit on it until he could casually drop it into a conversation like it was no big deal... That made sense right?

There were arms around Kurt's waist and a familiar body pressed up against him. Blaine's nose nuzzled into his neck as he said in a still sleepy voice, "Are you making pancakes?"

"Yes. Three different kinds. Banana, chocolate chips and plain. There are also eggs."

Kurt flipped the freshest batch off of the pan and turned around to hug Blaine. Blaine's hair was a mass of messy, un-gelled curls. He was only wearing sleep pants. He yawned, "How long have you been awake?"

"Oh probably two hours or so. You have a really nice backyard."

"What time is it?"

"Quarter to nine." Kurt picked up a plate and handed it over to Blaine, "Sit. Eat."

Blaine took the plate and sat down. As he ate he began to look more and more awake. "Is anyone else up?" he asked between mouth fulls.

"Not that I know of." Kurt paused to add more batter to the pan, "Dave already left though."

Blaine frowned, "Really? Why?"

Kurt gave a noncommittal shrug, "He said something about a ton of homework or something to his mom."

"Oh." Was all that Blaine said. For the next few minutes Blaine just sat at the table, eating and looking at Kurt. Kurt flashed a smile at Blaine. He finished and put his plate in the sink, Kurt put the newly finished batch of pancakes on another plate. Blaine reached out for Kurt's hands, "I'm amazed you don't have a killer hangover this morning."

"Just good genes I guess. I had a bit of a headache earlier but I drank some water and it went away."

"That's good. Do you remember last night?"

"Of course. I'm so sorry about my crying jag. I never pegged myself as an emotional drunk. Just remind me of how embarrassed I feel right now next time we talk about drinking."

"It happens to the best of us. I didn't really see a lot of Dave last night. How did he look this morning?"

"A little worse for wear. But he seemed to be fully functioning."

Blaine nodded slowly, "Good. That's good. He's not still upset?"

"About what?"

Blaine raised an eyebrow at Kurt, "About everything that happened at the dance?"

"Oh. Yeah, I think he's still a bit messed up from all that. But we didn't talk about it." Technically everything he was saying to Blaine was not a lie. Lying would be wrong.

Kurt could see the questions in Blaine's eyes. Could see Blaine struggling weather to ask Kurt something. Kurt hated that he put those questions in Blaine's head. Blaine was always worrying about him, for him. Kurt pulled Blaine into another hug, kissing his boyfriends cheek.

Blaine smiled, "What was that for?"

Kurt shrugged. "I like you."

"I like you too."

Everything was going to be fine. Kurt would just give Dave his room. He still had Blaine after all. They pulled a little apart and Kurt could still see those question, that worry sitting in the corners of Blaine's golden eyes. He wanted to put them to rest but he didn't know how. Not when we was just as messed up about what was going on.

Kurt heard Sam cough and roll out of the chair in the living room. "Oh man..." he padded into the kitchen wearing the blanket around himself like a cape. His eyes widening with joy and hunger when he saw the plates. "Dude, are those pancakes?" After Kurt said yes, Sam had grabbed a plate and said with a full mouth, "You effing rock!"

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It was almost three before everyone was ready to leave. Carol had come and gotten Finn and Kurt. But she needed to be dropped off at work before they could go home. So now Finn and Kurt were sitting in the car together driving back home. Kurt was still wrapped up in his thoughts about Dave and Blaine.

Now, normally Kurt wouldn't have pegged Finn as particularly aware of what was going on around him. Which was why he was surprised when Finn's big hand patted him on the shoulder.

Kurt looked over at his brother. "What was that for?"

"You just looked really sad."

Kurt trailed a finger absently along his chin, thinking."Did I?"

Finn nodded, "Yeah, sometimes when you think really hard about stuff you get this sad look on your face.

It was touching to know that Finn actually paid attention to Kurt's facial expressions. And rather funny. Finn himself had come along way since they first started spending time in Glee club together. They were very different people but at the end of the day Kurt knew that Finn would be there for him.

"Do you still care about Rachel?"

Finn twisted the wheel a little to fast, "What?"

"I know you're with Quinn now. And you two look happy but I was just wondering do you ever think about Rachel?"

Finn's mouth scrunched up as he thought, "You aren't going to tell her what I say are you?"

Kurt shook his head, "I promise! Wild horses couldn't drag it from me."

"Uh, well then. Okay. Yeah, I still think about her. I still want to see her happy. You know?"

Kurt nodded. Yeah, he knew. "Would you ever consider dating her again?"

"I dunno man. I've got a good thing going on right now. It's hard to explain."

Yeah, while their situations were rather different both were hard to explain. Kurt thought about Finn and himself for a bit. Finn was caught between to girls that had cheated on him. He was attracted to both of them. The great thing about Finn was that he seemed to be abel to boil things down to their simplest forms and just go with the choice he'd made.

While Kurt just couldn't seem to do that. He was letting himself complicate things. The three of them; Blaine, Dave and himself had a good thing going. But Kurt had done something to mess it up. What they had worked, so why had Kurt tried to change it? Kurt cared immensily for both boys. Had he just needed the attention? Knowing he could be adored by two after such a long time of nothing? Was that why he'd pushed Dave? What kind of person did that make him?

"Do you think I'm a good person Finn?"

Finn eyes darted over to Kurt's, "What? Of course!"

"I think I keep messing things up."

Finn's worry face was showing, "I mess up all the time. I think that's just what we're supposed to do in high school. I don't know what we're talking about but I know you'll figure whatever it is out. You always do.."

Kurt gave Finn a tired smile and patted his hand. "Thanks Finn."

"Yeah. No problem bro."

_He'd figure it out... as long as Dave was still talking to him. He would try and fix this. Try and make it up to both of them. He could do that, go back to the way it was... He could fix this. _He knew he just had to wait for Dave to talk to him again.


	11. Cold Shoulder

_I never thought I would have such a great time writing Santana, she sort of took over this chapter. But next chapter will be all in Blaine's POV. Once again thank you so so so much for all the alerts, adds and reviews. Every time I get a little alert saying that someone has reviewed or added the story it makes my day. So hugs to all of you!_

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**Chapter 11 – Cold Shoulder**

_~You say it's all in my head, And the things I think just don't make sense, So where you been then? Don't go all coy, Don't turn it round on me like it's my fault, See I can see that look in your eyes, The one that shoots me each and every time~_

**Thursday after Prom**

_Shittiest. Week. Ever. _Dave knew he'd been through worse weeks, still, this one had sucked. First of all there was Kurt. He had been respecting Dave's request for distance, but Dave could feel him starring at him all the damn time. Or at least it felt that way. Dave would try to ignore the feeling, but then during glee or French he would buckle and look up and catch sight of Kurt's blue eyes on him, he always looked so sad, like he was going to burst into tears. Dave would tear his own eyes away from Kurt's and try and remember what the hell he was doing before he got lost in those damn pretty eyes. Avoiding Kurt had meant avoiding Blaine. They'd talked a bit but nothing beyond normal school issues. Dave had been able to make excuses to not hang out with Blaine or Kurt pretty well this week. Mostly because Kurt had gotten one week of detention for disorderly conduct at Prom, but then all Dave's teachers seemed to have decided to assign ass-loads of school work and on top of it all Dr. Shane was changing his therapy sessions. All in all this week was kicking his ass.

Then there was the other reason this week had been total shit, Prom fall out. Dave had expected it. He knew that there was no way he could dance with Kurt Hummel and get away with it without people talking. He'd had to deal with some snickers and a few unimaginative slurs whispered as he passed in the hallways this week. So far he'd managed not to get into any fights...but it was beginning to wear on him. Oddly enough he hadn't had too much trouble from the football players though, on Monday Azimio had made it clear to them that Dave was still welcome at their table. Most of the players had fallen in line pretty easily after that and the ones that had problems with it weren't talking about it. Which had made it easier to avoid eating with the Glee club this week. Santana even caved and came and sat with him once. Even if their "relationship" was under some serious suspicion she'd told Dave that she wanted to keep it going. Dave had just nodded, he liked having Lopez around. Even if he didn't tell her that. With Azimio, most of the football team and Santana still backing him, he'd been able let most of the bad shit roll off his shoulders.

But today they'd been walking to class together, him and Santana, talking about Nationals coming up in a few weeks. Santana was stoked and Dave was actually getting excited about going to New York. A school trip to New York was worth a little pain and bullshit. And he liked singing and dancing. The two of them had been so wrapped up they hadn't seen the cup until it was too late...

Dave had never forgotten the cold, wet, sensation of being slushied back by the hockey team. He had fucking hated it. He'd sworn it would never happen to him again. That was why this time, it felt that much worse. His arm shot out and gripped the body that had tossed the drink at him, slamming it up against the closest wall. Only Santana, still dripping herself, hanging onto his other arm had kept him from smashing in the persons face. "Hang on there Fury. It's not worth it."

He wiped the red mess from his eyes to look at who had done this to him. It was a petrified freshman. Dave vaguely recognized him, he was a baseball player. His eyes narrowed and the kid whimpered, "Please, they said I had to. I'm really sorry."

It had probably been some type of hazing ritual. The baseball players were famous for pulling shit like this on the new kids. Somewhere in the back of his head Dave was pleased that none of the starters had had the balls to slushy him. That meant something. They'd sent a pimple faced baby to the slaughter. Even with Santana's arm holding his it wasn't her that had stopped him from pummeling the kid into paste though. Kurt was watching him from down the hallway. The slender boy took a step forward then stopped. Blaine came up next to him and they both watched Dave.

"You're just lucky I don't break your throwing arm off and shove it down your throat. You tell your friends the next one won't be so lucky. Now, get the fuck outta here." Dave shoved the kid away from him. The freshman shot him one disbelieving look before stumbling off down the hallway. Dave looked back down the hallway, Blaine smiled and Kurt gave a little nod. Blaine took a step toward Dave and Santana but Kurt grabbed his arm and led him off in the other direction, pointing at the clock. Blaine threw another look backwards, frowning. Dave gave him a dismissive wave. Blaine didn't know about the space thing. What else had Kurt not told him? Dave's shoulders slumped a bit. He could feel the slushy already gelling and sticking in clumps in his hair.

Santana didn't say anything. Didn't let on that she was all too aware of the little exchange that had just gone on, she just took his hand and lead him to the locker room to rinse him off. As she toweled the last of the red dye out of his hair she spoke, "You going to tell me what bug crawled up your ass this week?"

Dave shot her a look and took the towel, "You mean besides being slushied and all this Prom fallout bullshit?"

"Yeah. Like why you're avoiding Kurt and Blaine like the plague. If you think disassociation is going to help you out I gotta tell you that it's a little late for that."

"Way to use big words Lopez. You got a vocab test this week or something?"

"Suck it Karofsky. I'm just trying to be your friend. Which isn't always easy." Dave didn't say anything so Santana continued, "So, you going to let me in on what's happening?"

"It's nothing." Dave said opening his locker and taking out the extra shirt he kept in there.

She folded her arms over her chest. "I bet that's what the Captain of the Titanic said too."

He changed shirts quickly. "You're supposed to be a trophy girlfriend, not all smart and shit."

She raised her hands, "What can I say? I'm a triple threat."

He pulled the shirt over his chest, turning to look at her, "What's the triple part?"

She counted them out on her fingers, "I'm smokin' hot, I'm smart and I'm also a total evil bitch."

Dave chuckled, "Oh yeah, I think my bunny slippers just ran for cover Lopez."

"Whatever. I'm coming over tonight and you are going to tell me what's up. Or I might accidentally let slip something about the drinking after Prom to your mom."

Dave glared at the Latina, "I take it back. You are an evil bitch."

"Warned you. You have an extra shirt in there for me?"

Dave sighed and tossed his McKinely football sweatshirt to her. "Take this. I guess I'll get it back from you tonight."

"Glad you're seeing it my way."

_I didn't know there was another way to see it._

The bell rang.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Dave's mom had made eggplant parmesan when he had told her that Santana would be coming over for dinner. "Mom, it's just Santana."

His mother clucked at him, "You haven't had anyone over all week."

"People are busy."

"How are Blaine and Kurt? They haven't been around for dinner in a long time. They looked so nice at Prom."

The last thing Dave wanted to do was talk about how good Kurt had looked on Prom night. So he just gave a noncommittal grunt of acknowledgment, "They're good."

Santana had come over a half an hour later. Dave's dad had appeared an hour after that. Dinner had been nice, relaxed, normal.

A lot of dinner conversations between the three of them had revolved around Dave's sexual preferences, and while they didn't discuss that very much lately that was the way Dave liked it. He had been worried that they would treat him differently, and they had for a while. The week after he'd come out to his parents his mom had gotten _Queer as Folk_,and _The L word_ on instant watch on Netflix. His dad had come home with pamphlets and PFLAG fliers. That had been when Dave had sat them down and told them that they didn't have to hang a rainbow flag outside to prove that they loved him. Just the fact that they trying so hard to understand him, that meant everything to him. Every now and then he'd see his mom reading books that said things like _Raising a gay teen_ on the cover_._ He would just shake his head and pretend he didn't see it. Blaine had gotten a kick out of it when Dave had complained to him and Kurt about it.

"I think it's adorable." Blaine had said.

"It's damn embarrassing." Dave had grumbled.

Kurt had just laughed, "Just wait until they have the 'sex talk' with you. _That_ is embarrassing."

Thinking back on it Kurt knowing how hard Dave's parents were trying probably had added to his pissiness about Santana. _So much for hindsight… _He missed being able to just talk to them...Blaine made him laugh and Kurt...well Kurt just got him. Now Dave knew that Kurt didn't always understand him but to Dave, Kurt was terrifyingly aware of him on a seemingly subconscious level. A hand on his shoulder when he was having a bad day. The right word at precisely the right time. For all the fights they had, there were a million little moments that were exactly what Dave needed. Maybe it was all in his head. But that didn't mean that he hadn't missed those moments all the more this week.

Tonight dinner conversation was slightly stilted. Dave knew that his mom preferred Blaine and Kurt to Santana. But she was too polite to say. As far as his mom was concerned Santana was "one of those girls that liked to hang out with gay boys." And while she didn't always approve of Santana she liked that the girl seemed to make Dave happy. That and Dave was sure that his mom took pity on the fact that Santana's home life wasn't the best.

After dinner Santana and Dave retreated up to his room. The door was barely closed before Santana started in on him, "Alright, so spill it."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I'm nosy as hell."

"You can't tell anyone. Understand?"

Santana made dismissive noise, "Baby, who would I tell? Now come here and tell your Auntie Tanna what's bothering you."

Dave rolled his eyes, "I really fucking hate it when you talk like that." Santana pulled him onto the bed with her. "Is it really obvious that something's wrong?"

"Subtlety was never your strong suite Karofsky."

"Fuck."

"Seriously. What's wrong? You've been all emo and shit since Prom."

Dave shut his eyes and said very low, "Kurt kissed me."

"What?" Santana jumped up. "When? Where? Why is this a bad thing?"

Dave looked up at the girl jumping around on the bed above him, "Umm, at Blaine's house after the dance. And it's a bad thing because it was at fucking BLAINE'S HOUSE!"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down. I mean, the circumstances could've been better true, but come one your first boy kisses? That's a big step."

Dave shifted uncomfortably, whispering, "That wasn't my first kiss."

Santana fell down on top of Dave, trapping him under her, "WHAT?"

"Shhh! Jesus you're loud."

"That wasn't your first kiss? Who was it? Was it Sam? I always wondered about that boy…"

"What? No!" Dave turned his face away from the girl above him, "It was Kurt."

Santana looked confused, "Huh?"

"Last fall. Right before things got really bad and he left. I sort of…lunged at him…in the locker room."

Santana's jaw hung open. "Seriously?"

"Yup. He'd been yelling at me. And I just...I dunno...lost it."

"So, you've been holding a torch for him like all year? Since you kissed him?" Silence... "Since before?"

"Yup."

"And then on Saturday when he kissed you it was bad because…."

"He only did it to figure out if I had a crush on him."

She sat back on Dave's legs. "Wait, wait, that makes no sense."

"Well, he was drunk at the time."

"Oh shit. That's like ten kinds of fucked up."

"Yup."

"So you've been avoiding Kurt since then because…"

"Because I just want things to go back to normal before he kissed me."

A perfectly sculpted eyebrow quirked up, "Normal?"

"Yeah, normal. Him not having a damn clue and me just dealing with it in silence."

"Cuz that's the healthy choice."

"Blaine's a friend."

"See, this is why I have made sure that Wheels and I will never be friends. To avoid awkward situations like this."

"Very fucking helpful."

"Does Blaine know?"

"He knows about the first kiss."

"What about Prom?"

"I have no fucking clue. But I have a feeling that Kurt hasn't told him. Did it look like anything was weird on Sunday after you woke up?"

"No. Nothing I noticed. Why do you think Kurt didn't tell him?"

"I dunno." Dave rubbed his forehead, "Can you stop asking me difficult questions? Or you could really be nice and just kill me now."

Santana collapsed herself on top of Dave, hugging her body to his, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, everyone's fucking sorry."

"Don't be a bitch. I'm trying to be supportive and shit."

He brought his arms up and wrapped her in them. "Sorry. Sorry, I'm such a miserable bastard."

"So how are Lady's lips?"

"I really hate it when you call him that."

"That wasn't an answer."

"Fireworks. Bells ringing. Fucking perfect. Waddya want from me?"

"You've got it bad."

"Fuck off. I saw you asleep with a certain ditzy blond that shall remain unnamed on Sunday morning."

"She snuggled with me all night. Then went home with Four-eyes." Her voice hitched as she spoke.

"Sorry Lopez."

Now it was Santana's turn to shrug. "It is what it is."

They lay on the bed for a long while until Dave coughed and said, "Hey Lopez. I don't say it. Because I don't like all the feelings talk. But you're the best hag a guy could ask for."

Santana burst into laughter. "What the fuck are you talking about? You're _my hag_ bitch." But she hugged him harder as she said it.

**Friday**

Kurt was so happy this week was over. Well, basically over. He still had to get through today and he was already late. The last thing he needed was to end up with another detention just as he was about to finish his week.

His morning routine had taken longer and longer this week. It was getting ridiculous, the things he needed to do to get rid of the dark circles under his eyes. He had been sleeping terribly all week and when he finally did fall asleep it would be fitful and full of dreams...about Dave. Dreams that he would be embarrassed to talk about to anyone. Dreams that he was embarrassed even to have.

He wasn't sure what the psychological term was for experiencing things that he'd never physically done but those were the types of dreams he'd been having. He hadn't even known his mind could be that explicit... The feel of a tongue licking hot and wet against his inner thighs, and higher. The pressure of a pair of large hands against his butt, of those fingers trailing their way down and over his hips... Kurt shivered.

Kurt blamed the pamphlets that his dad had got him.

He knew he couldn't be held responsible for what his dreams did but the guilt was chewing him up inside. Every time he woke up he would replay Dave's words _How could you do that to Blaine? _

Kurt owed Blaine so much. His friendship had made it possible for Kurt to reach out to Dave in the first place. Knowing that he had someone to help him, to listen. Blaine was a steady and understanding voice, a calm mind in the crazy world they all existed in. Yes, Blaine was a teenager with problems just like Kurt was. But Kurt had tremendous respect for Blaine, had from the very beginning. It was the guilt that had kept Kurt from talking to Blaine about kissing Dave. Kurt didn't want to see any type of hurt on Blaine's face. Kurt wanted to just spare him the entire episode. Blaine didn't need to go through that. And Kurt knew that Dave wouldn't tell Blaine. Dave would never do anything to hurt Kurt. Not anymore, and never intentionally.

It had been pretty easy letting Dave avoid him for most of the week. He'd been keeping an eye on the bigger boy though. Just to make sure he was alright. Kurt knew that it could be bad if Dave felt too stressed out. So he'd made sure he kept a lose tab on the football player. Kurt thought that Dave was going to lose it yesterday, after he'd been slushied. But Santana had been there, she must have calmed him down. It stung a bit, being replaced by a girl that Kurt had never been close to or particularly liked for a long time, but at least Dave wasn't alone.

Walking through the hall he passed Azimio, they gave each other the barest of nods. It was a strange civility that the two of them had operated on since Prom night. They had even spoken, sort of, once this week.

They sat next to each other in English. On Tuesday Azimio had forgotten his book and the teacher had made him share with Kurt. As soon as the lecture started Kurt had written three words on his notebook.

_ How is Dave? _

Azimio starred at the paper for a long time before scrawling an answer across it.

_Don't u know?_

_ No. I'm giving him space._

_ Good. He's shitty. But he'll be fine.  
_

_ Thank you. _Kurt thought for a second before adding. _I saw he's still sitting with you guys._

Azimio glanced down at the paper. Then wrote, _Dave's my boy. Just don't make this week any harder on him that it already is. _

Kurt fought the urge to be offended and pissed off at the comment. He wanted to tell the stupid jock off. But all he ended up writing was, _I won't._

_ K. See u in detention._

_ What'd they get you for?_

_ Caught me tossing Jacob into the dumpster. _

_ Classy._

Friday was moving quickly enough after a slow start. Kurt had managed to make it to his first period class just in time. He was making his way to his locker after second period when a distant but familiar sensation had him flying into the closest lockers. _Someone just shoved me!_

Kurt was spun around. It had been a hockey player! _The mullets must be doing something to their brains. _"What is your problem?" He yelled at the boy. The boy turned and came back. _Uh oh._ It had been a long time since he'd been the victim of active bullying at McKinely. Dave had promised to stop it all he could. And he had. But it couldn't last forever.

The hockey player pushed Kurt again. Slamming the slender boy's back into the lockers. "You got a problem homo?"

Kurt lifted his chin up, "Your hair. I didn't know there was Steve Earl revival show in town."

The hockey player lifted his fist and Kurt shrank back. He knew what it felt like to get punched. But before the puck-head could land the blow Kurt heard a voice he knew all to well...

"Check yourself before you wreck yourself Billy Ray Cyrus!"

"You think I can't take a queer and a girl?"

Kurt opened his eyes and watched in utter shock as Santana stepped up to the other boy fearlessly, a derisive laugh playing against her lips. "Okay, so here's what's gunna go down. Two choices. You stay here and I crack one of your nuts, right or left, that's your choice. Or you walk away and live to be a douche-bag another day. Oh! And also, I have razor blades hidden in my hair. Tons. All up in there."

The puck-head growled his distaste as he backed away, "Whatever."

Kurt was shocked and a little awed at Santana's display. She turned to him with a smile on her face. Kurt blurted out, "I could've handled that."

"It was more fun to do it together." Her words were light but as her smile faltered Kurt had the decency to feel bad about what he had just said.

"I mean, thank you."

"What do you have third?"

"Study hall? You?"

She made a gagging movement. "Biology. But I'm thinking of blowing it off. Wanna come?"

Kurt eyed the dark haired girl. He wasn't sure what she was up to. But if they spent time together then he could probably glean information about how Dave was doing from her. He nodded slowly, "Let me just go check in. I'll say I'm going to the library for research."

After Kurt got out Santana had found him and they ended up sitting outside under the bleachers. Kurt looked at the girl for a long time. Until she finally looked back at him, "What?"

"Nothing." Kurt said, "I guess I was just expecting you to offer me some smuggled hooch or a cigarette or something."

Santana's eyebrows shot up. "First of all, smoking fucks up your hair, nails and skin. Nothing that I wish to do. Secondly, what era are you from? Who calls it hooch? Honestly, you really don't know me at all do you Lady?"

Kurt bristled, "Calling me that doesn't really warm me up to the possibilities of wanting to either."

She gave him a little half smile, "He hates it when I call you that too."

Kurt brows knit together, "Who?"

"Oh come on. You know who."

"Dave."

"Ding, ding. We have a winner. I honestly started calling you that around him because I heard him use it once to you a while ago. Thought it would be easier if I called you names too around him. Then when I saw how pissy he got when I used it I just had to keep doing it. He's pretty adorable when he's being pissy. Like a big teddy bear." She eyed Kurt up and down, "But I'm sure you know that."

Kurt blushed and looked away. He went on the defensive, "That _thing _you two have sounds super healthy and affirming."

Santana's voice became a bit sharper, "Well he needs someone around him to listen and not fuck with his head."

Kurt's next words came out low and dripped acid, "Has anyone ever told you that you have a big mouth? I'm sure _someone _has commented on it. Maybe Finn? Or Puck? Or the rest of the football team?"

Santana gave a bitter laugh, "Meow Kurt. Kitty's got some pretty nasty claws. Did I strike a nerve?"

Kurt glared at the girl, "I just think you talk a lot for someone who has no idea what Dave is going through."

Santana laughed again, "Look, honey. I understand what Dave is going through more than you or your hobbit could ever hope to." She paused before dropping her voice to above a whisper, "We're on the same team."

Kurt's eyes widened at the revelation, "Wha...you're a?"

"Yup. The only straight I am is straight up bitch."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"So you'll shut up and listen to me." She folded her arms, gripping onto her elbows, "He misses you."

Kurt dropped his head down, looking at his shoes. "He told me to give him space. I didn't want to make this week any worse for him."

Santana rolled her eyes and groaned, "Boys. Why are you all so stupid? What you did was amazingly cruel."

Kurt's head snapped up ready to deny. To play dumb. But one look at her face and he knew. She knew. "He told you?"

"Duh."

Kurt hung his head back down in shame.

Santana put a hand on Kurt's shoulder. Kurt looked up into her dark eyes, "It was an amazingly bitch move. But you guys can get over it."

"How?"

"That's really up to you two. He wants things to go back to normal. Whatever normal means. What he really wants is you...in his life."

Kurt looked at Santana like he'd never seen her before. And really, maybe he never had. Not this girl. He couldn't ever remember seeing this girl before. She gave him a tiny smile that reminded Kurt of the last time he'd seen her smile like no one else was watching. The distant sound of a bell ringing broke the spell. Santana looked out toward the main building, "We'd better get back." She took a step away then stopped, "Don't tell anyone okay?"

Kurt nodded, "I don't believe in denying who you are. But I don't believe in outing either." She gave him a little nod. Kurt called after her, "If you ever need to talk. I promise to listen and not be quiet so bitchy."

"It's kinda hot when you're bitchy. I know he thinks so too." She winked and with that Santana turned and strutted back to the main building. Leaving Kurt in the shadows of the bleachers.

His phone beeped quietly from inside his bag. Kurt pulled it out. It was from Blaine.

DINNER OUT 2NGHT? JUST U AND ME?

Kurt smiled and sent his answer back right away. Unaware that across campus Dave had gotten the same message from Blaine.

Dave had thought about saying no. But Blaine had been instant. _I can't keep dodging them forever. _Not to mention Blaine was probably just worried about how weird Dave had been acting lately. Which he could just say was about Prom. _Not a lie, technically. _He shrugged to himself and sent Blaine a 'sure.' _What's the worst that could happen?_


	12. If It Hadn't Been For Love

_Wow! Guys I'm so floored! Thank you so much for your support, your PM's, and your reviews. This is heavily Blaine's POV and I hope that you all enjoy it! We have NYC coming up soon! Can't wait to see what trouble these three and all the rest of New Directions are going to get into! And please don't be shy to give me advice or constructive critics, they are very welcome!  
_

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**Chapter 12- If It Hadn't Been For Love **

_~I never would have seen the trouble that I'm in if it hadn't been for love. I would have been gone like a wayward wind if it hadn't been for love. Nobody knows it better than me. I wouldn't be wishing I was free. If it hadn't been, if it hadn't been for love.~ _

As Blaine pulled into the parking lot of the family restaurant he'd chosen he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. He never would've called himself particularly sneaky or manipulative. But he knew that was exactly what he was being tonight. But really, what other choice had Kurt and Dave given him?

His let out a long sigh. He'd wanted to do something different, something a little less, _underhanded..._ but after having coffee with Wes and David earlier this week they'd encouraged him that taking matters into his own hands was a good idea. He just wished that there could have been a different way to go about it. He'd tried all week to sit down with Kurt and Dave. But one or both of them had managed to wriggle out of his plans every single time. It had been ridiculous! And really who did they think they were kidding, pretending that they were acting normal? But still he wondered if maybe he should just leave well enough alone. He sat in his car and seriously thought about just turning right around and calling the whole thing off.

He let out another sigh. This week had been far to annoying and there was no way he was going to play along with whatever it was they were doing for another week. Nope. Tonight was it, the last straw before he had to resort to kidnapping them both and duct-taping them to his kitchen chairs. Which would be really hard and amazingly annoying. He wasn't even sure how to go about kidnapping someone... not to mention the whole it being a felony thing. He got out of the car.

Blaine scanned the restaurant and was happy that it was only about half full and most of the other patrons seemed to be either families or older couples. He had decided against Breadsticks early on because of its high-profile appeal to the kids of McKinely and opted for an out of the way family restaurant near the highway. It had been difficult to find a place that both Dave, the human garbage disposal, and Kurt, finicky eater extraordinaire, would both want to go to. They were all such creatures of habit. Not that he was even sure that they would get to the eating part tonight at all. Better safe than sorry anyway.

He was early enough that he got the booth in a tucked away corner that he had wanted as soon as he walked in. He took the seat facing the door. He looked up to see a stuffed alligator on the wall above him. _Ah, kitch._ The atmosphere was warm and way too cheerful for his state of 'd started off the week worried and now he was dancing a line between pissed-off and scared. It was an uncomfortable mix.

Blaine looked around once more. Thinking about the other people in the place, just enjoying their Friday night out. He would have preferred meeting at someone's houses but he knew that wouldn't have worked. He had thought about inviting them over to his but he had a feeling that he might want to have the choice to drive home alone and go hide in his room for the rest of the weekend… Which would be hard if Dave and Kurt were at his place already. He settled into the seat and waited for the first of the two to show up.

Kurt got there first and saw Blaine quickly, eyes lighting up. He sat, his back facing the entrance. "Hey!" He greeted Blaine cheerfully.

Blaine returned Kurt's smile and greeting, "Hi."

Blaine loved Kurt's smile, it was infectious. It never failed to make him grin. He knew he was angry but there was just something about Kurt's face, it was so expressive. Blaine could see everything Kurt thought move across that beautiful face, clear as day. He'd never met anyone with a face so expressive. But it was a bit of a double-edged sword, all that emotiveness meant that while he could share in Kurt's happy moments he felt Kurt's sad ones just as acutely. That was why he needed to be reserved Blaine tonight. He needed to steel himself. He forced himself to let the smile fall away from his mouth.

Kurt fidgeted lightly with his vest and scarf, smoothing down and rearranging so it would look it's best while he was sitting down. Kurt was talking about a lady he'd seen who'd he'd seen wearing one of his favorite jackets from Lip Service. Blaine was annoyed when realized he was smiling again, watching Kurt's slender hands animate the story. Kurt had no idea that he'd invited Dave too.

Blaine suddenly wondered if Kurt knew how lucky Blaine felt to have met the slender boy. Blaine's life hadn't been bad before Kurt. He'd had no reason to complain. But that had been the trouble; it had been safe, structured and boring. Kurt had been a breath of fresh air (more like a hurricane). He was pretty sure Kurt didn't even realize what a force of nature he was. A lot of the time, especially now at McKinley, Blaine felt that he was just being swept along in the wake of Kurt. But it was a ride that he was more than happy to take. Which had surprised Blaine.

Blaine had figured he would be the one in control. At Dalton he'd always been the catalyst. He'd never understood just how stifled Kurt must have felt at Dalton. Or how buttoned-down he'd let himself become there as well. Dalton was a great school that had treated Blaine very well, it had been the perfect place to retreat to and lick his wounds and he would always be grateful for that. But by the time he'd met Kurt Blaine had been seventeen going on forty. Not anymore. He'd never felt more like a teenager than he did around the New Directions and Kurt. Blaine was grateful to Kurt for so many little things. Even the seemingly bad things. Their friendship had given him the chance to talk about things, like his own bullying experiences, and to go back to a public school and face those shadows, something he had never thought he would be able to do. He'd found in Kurt someone that believed in him and looked up to him. It was a lot of pressure sometimes. His happiness had become irrevocably bound up with the boy sitting across from him at some point in the last eight months. In the big scheme of things that was an incredibly short period of time.

Kurt frowned at the dark haired boy, "Why are you looking at me like that? Is everything okay?"

Blaine turned his eyes away from Kurt. "It's nothing. Sorry. Just deep thoughts."

Kurt's frown deepened, "Oh, okay…" he tried for a new topic, "So, New York in two weeks? Are you excited?"

"Of course. I've been a few times with my mom. It's a really hip city."

Kurt's tongue darted out as he looked over the menu, "So are we going to order?"

Blaine shook his head. "Let's just wait for a minute."

Kurt tried to catch Blaine's eyes but failed. _That's odd. _"Blaine, you're worrying me. What's wrong?"

Blaine avoided Kurt's eyes and was a little relieved when he saw Dave enter. Dave caught his eyes and gave him a nod, strolled towards him. _Well, here we go._

"Hey, sorry I'm a bit la…" Dave stopped dead as soon as he saw Kurt. The two boys looked at each other for a moment trying to figure out what had just happened.

Kurt figured it out first. His eyes went wide and his spine went ridged as he turned his gaze from Dave back to Blaine. Dave's eyes moved to Blaine as well.

Kurt tilted his head to the side, "Just you and me?"

Blaine closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Okay. So as I'm pretty sure you two figured out I invited you both here for dinner without telling you." He held up a hand to forestall the questions that he could see poised on the other boys lips. "I'll explain as soon as Dave sits down."

For a moment Dave looked back toward the door and considered bolting. But he knew that would be an amazingly bitch move. Blaine had pulled a fast one, and he had to give the shorter boy some credit for it. Obviously Kurt hadn't told him shit this week. Or why else would they be in ma-and-pa-eatery next to the highway. _Great. This is going to be un-fucking-pleasant. _He let out rumbling sigh and slid in next to Kurt, who scooted over to give him room. Dave would just keep his head down, take the shots and the blame that was going to be thrown at him. He wasn't really going to have a choice.

The three boys sat there in an uncomfortable silence while the waiter came and gave them water. Blaine looked from Kurt to Dave. Kurt was watching him warily, head up, hands in his lap. Dave, on the other hand, had his hands huddled around his water glass, head hung down. _It looks like he's waiting for me to tell him his puppy has cancer._

It was that look on Dave's face that always hurt Blaine. Even now, when Dave had his family and friends behind him, his immediate expectations were always to be punished and rejected. Blaine knew that Dave tried to hide his feelings most of the time and usually succeeded, except when he couldn't hide his frustration or anger. He'd done everything he could to make Dave feel comfortable and happy around him and had been rewarded with what he would consider a pretty good friendship. Blaine knew that Dave was still guarded around him. But that didn't surprise Blaine. Dave was guarded around just about everyone. But he'd watched Kurt painstakingly coax smiles and admissions out of the bigger boy he'd never seen anyone else capable of doing. There was just something in Dave that he'd never been able to reach that Kurt could. A lot of that had to do with Dave's personal journey but Blaine knew that wasn't totally it either. Dave trusted Kurt in a way he didn't trust anyone else. Almost blindly. Blaine had always tried to be understanding of the friendship between Kurt, his boyfriend, and Dave, his friend. The two of them had a lot of history together, very personal history that even someone who knew, like Blaine did, still would be on the outside of. He tried not to be jealous. But sometimes it was hard...

Looking at the two of them sitting next to each other, growing more and more uncomfortable by the second, Blaine wondered if he should just leave well enough alone. It had been his first impulse in the car. Because that's what he preferred to do.

Blaine had always avoided conflict like Ebola or eating broccoli. He hated it. How he dealt with his father was a perfect example of how much he strived to avoid conflict. Compartmentalize and wait it out, that was his M.O. That's why he'd waited so long to kiss Kurt. Why he'd never squared off against his dad. Why he'd let his bullies run him out of his old school. It was just easy to avoid it, let it roll off. He'd been so sure that Dave or Kurt would talk to him when they were ready to talk. Even now he felt that maybe he didn't have to force the issue. Maybe next week.

_But then these feelings I've been having aren't going to go away. I'll be stuck for another week watching those two stare at each other across class rooms and hallways. And not knowing. _

Blaine's mind had been running through hideous scenario after hideous scenario since Sunday morning when he'd woken up to Dave already gone, Kurt making pancakes, being very cagey and trying to hide from Blaine the fact that he'd been crying. Blaine had waited patiently for either Kurt or Dave to tell him what was going on…but nothing. For the whole week nothing. Well, he was sick of waiting.

Blaine took a sip of water, "I think I'm a pretty reasonable person." He paused, "So, which of you is going to tell me what is going on?"

Kurt and Dave glanced at each other briefly before Dave focused back on his water glass and Kurt wrapped his arms around himself, looking toward the wall.

Blaine's jaw tightened. He tried to keep his voice calm and level. "I know how you guys fight. You guys yell at each other, then you don't talk for a while and in about a week you say sorry. I mean that's normal for us. The thing is that even during those times when you guys aren't talking to each other you are both still talking to me." He had to stop and wait for the hot lump in his throat to clear, "You" he said looking at Kurt "You are my boyfriend." Kurt's eyes flicked to Blaine's then dropped. Blaine turned his focus to Dave, "And you, are supposed to be one of my best friends." Dave looked up at that statement. Had Blaine never told him that he considered him a best friend?_ Well, he knew now. Crappy timing but oh well. _"I honestly thought one of you would tell me what happened last weekend that upset you both so much."

Kurt whispered, "I didn't want to worry you…"

Dave didn't move.

Blaine nodded slowly, "Okay. But I have been worried. I've been freaking out this entire week. I mean, come on guys. What do you think I'm going to do when my boyfriend and our best friend suddenly aren't talking after a drunken party where I didn't really see either of you for most of the night? You were a hot mess by the end of the night Kurt. You were balling your eyes out to Mercedes and you wouldn't let me anywhere near you." Dave's head jerked up a bit, looking at Kurt. _Apparently Dave hadn't known about that detail. _Kurt's face began to crumble around the edges. And the hot lump in Blaine's throat was back. "Dave got slushied this week! Right in front of us! And he took control of his anger. That's a huge step and yet he didn't what you anywhere around him. What is that?I've been waiting all week for one of you to tell me what was wrong so I didn't have to have these horrible thoughts of what _might have_ happened in my head." He put a fist to his chest, "I am not a jealous person. And I've hated myself all week for the shit that my mind has come up with that was so bad neither of you could tell me. I don't want to be this kind of person." He swallowed painfully around the lump, "So, can one of you please tell me what the hell is going on?"

Dave couldn't move, or speak. He was in complete shut down. Kurt looked over at the bigger boy for less than a second to know what was happening in Dave's head. Kurt let out a shaking breath and licked his lips. It had been his responsibility to tell Blaine and he'd failed. He'd failed all of them. So now it was time to own up. "I kissed Dave."

Blaine's brow shot up. _Seriously? That's it? Why the hell couldn't Kurt just tell me that on Sunday? _

Dave woke up at the words he looked fearfully up at Blaine, who was still silent. Dave knew he had to say something, "Kurt was drunk. He didn't know what he was doing..."

When Blaine didn't say anything Kurt got even more scared, "Do you believe me?"

Blaine looked up at Kurt, "Yes. Because you can't lie. It would be all over your face. That's why I knew something was up on Sunday morning."

"Oh." Kurt's gaze dropped to the table. _Of course Blaine had known something was wrong. _It had been stupid to think he could hide it.

"I appreciate you telling me though...finally."

Blaine's calm tone confused Dave, and the confusion was clear on his face when he asked, "Aren't you upset?"

Blaine shifted his dark eyes over to Dave and raised his eyebrows, "I'm very upset. Did you want me to yell? Or maybe pitch a hissy-fit in the middle of the restaurant?"

Under those calm eyes Dave shrank back down into his seat. Blaine wondered why the 6'2" football line backer always thought he could shrink himself down into not being noticed. Blaine tilted his head, thinking again. He knew it had to have been something like that. But he thought that it was going to be something much worse. And now that he knew he was starting to realize a few more things. He wasn't exactly mad like he'd told Dave, it was more like extreme disappointment. _Is that normal? I think I'm supposed to be angrier. Why couldn't they just tell me? _A mean thought flashed through his mind and he grabbed onto it. _There, that's what normal boyfriends should do. Right? Be petty. _Still looking at Dave Blaine asked, "Did you kiss him back?"

"Blaine!" Kurt gasped.

Dave's face went couldn't be mad at Blaine. He probably would ask the same question if he was in Blaine's shoes. Well, he'd probably be screaming the question as he throttled the living daylights out of the guy. "No." He breathed out.

"No?"Blaine repeated.

Dave looked up, finally feeling the first rush of anger, "No." _Fuck you!_ He wanted to tell him that it he hadn't because of him. Well that wasn't entirely true...Dave knew Kurt well enough that he knew what cheating on Blaine would have done to Kurt. It would have ripped him up inside. It probably had ripped him up all week. Didn't Blaine get it? But he didn't say anything. He just huddled around himself tighter, but not breaking eye contact. His eyes narrowing.

Blaine held Dave's eyes. He could see how mad Dave was that he'd asked that question. Blaine knew that Dave had feelings for Kurt. If he could've just blamed Dave everything would've been simpler. There could be a good guy and a bad guy. Very clear cut black and white. But deep down Blaine knew that Dave wasn't that kinda of guy. Blaine knew that Dave adored Kurt, so much so that Dave would never do anything that he thought might hurt Kurt. Blaine had also watched Dave's slow progress when it came to intimate physical contact. For Christ's sake Saturday night was the first time Dave had ever hugged Blaine voluntarily. And he knew for a fact that Dave had never hugged Kurt. Dave could barely initiate contact with Kurt beyond an awkward pat on the shoulder. Dave had become more comfortable with Kurt touching him, on the hand, on the arm, but he was never the one that initiated the contact. That was one of the main reasons why he'd never been worried about Kurt and Dave spending time together. The only person that seemed to successfully invade Dave's bubble both ways was Santana.

Blaine let out a sigh, "I'm sorry Dave."

"Why are you apologizing to me?" Dave ground out between his teeth, still striving to keep control on his temper.

"For insinuating that you are less of a man than I know you to be."

"He pushed me away." Kurt finally spoke up. He'd been frozen, out in the cold away from the burning look Dave and Blaine had been sharing. "He got so upset. He accidently pushed me into a wall. He told me to just give him space on Sunday morning, before everyone woke up. This wasn't Dave's fault. It was mine." _Well, kind of. __If you, Blaine, hadn't told me about Dave's supposed crush on me none of this would have happened. So really maybe this is your fault? Ever think of that? _Kurt bit his tongue before that little rant left his mouth. That wasn't fair. And Kurt knew that it wasn't true either.

Blaine caught the anguished look in Dave's eyes at the mention of the push._ Of course the distance thing had been Dave's idea._ _Push away, push away, reject before they reject you. _Enough guilt to go around for everyone. Blaine trained his focus back to Kurt. Kurt's big eyes always paled out to the most amazing color when he was about to cry. It was transfixing.

Kurt choked out the next words, trying to hold the tears in, "I'm so sorry."

Blaine lifted a hand to stop Kurt. He held his hand up for a long time, even after Kurt stopped talking. He was trying to find his own voice. "I believe you feel bad Kurt. And really, I'm the last person that should make judgement calls about making bad kissing choices while drunk..." he took a breath, "I think what I'm having trouble with is the fact that you kept this from me."

There was a edge of pleading in Kurt's voice, "I was going to tell you. It just never felt like the right time."

Blaine shook his head, "On it's own it's an insignificant thing, something that happens all the time. But you made it a secret. Kept it from me. I don't think you ever would've told me. And that's what bothers me more than any drunk peck."

Kurt let out a little sob. He couldn't tell Blaine that what he thought was wrong. He would have loved to tell him that. But he couldn't.

Dave stood up suddenly, lurching to his feet and walking towards the door without a word or backwards glance.

Blaine watched the bigger boy go and turned to Kurt, "Does he always storm out?"

Kurt just nodded, he'd had to fight the impulse to run after the bigger boy, to bring him back, "Whenever he feels cornered and upset. It's like flight or fight with him. We should be happy he didn't break anything on his rush out." They followed the football player with their eyes and watched Dave stop and start pacing back and forth in the parking lot, hands in pockets, grumbling to himself. Kurt breathed a sigh of relief that Dave wasn't trying to drive. _Maybe it was better that Dave stay outside for a minute. _He needed to ask Blaine something and it was better that it was just the two of them, "Are you going to break up with me?"

The words were spoken so low that Blaine wasn't sure he'd heard them. But when he looked over to Kurt and saw that the slender boy was crying. Eyes wide open, no sniffling, just big wet tears rolling out of his eyes. Blaine spoke without thinking too much, "I dunno."

Kurt's face screwed up. He'd wanted to avoid all of this. How could this be happening? _Because I messed up._ Why couldn't he have just told Blaine about the kiss on Sunday? _What was stopping me? _

Blaine watched Kurt. He couldn't stand seeing Kurt cry. Blaine thought about Kurt's question... He let himself contemplate a life without Kurt. What would breaking up with Kurt mean? It would mean the loss of one of his pillars, his best friend. He'd lose Dave too, most likely. His closest friends at McKinley (well he would still have Rachel though. And she was a really awesome hag.). _Am I ready to lose my best friends? Over what?_ Blaine knew what he was afraid of. He was afraid of not being wanted. Kurt made him feel so important, like the slender boy needed him around. But did Kurt really need him? Kurt was so strong, so much stronger than he even knew. Blaine swallowed hard before asking quietly, "Do you want to break up?"

Kurt took a gasping suck of air. He looked at Blaine like he'd grown another arm, or had worn polka-dots and plaid. Kurt didn't understand why he'd asked the question. "No."

Blaine let out a shaking breath and gave a small bob of the head. "Okay." He reached his hands out. Kurt let out another sob and grabbed the hands with both of his like it was a life line.

That's when Dave decided to come back inside...

Dave had been fuming in the parking lot. He hadn't been able to take listening to Kurt sob next to him. Not without either grabbing the singer and hugging him or punching someone...probably Blaine. Neither of which had been options. He'd been working himself into a state of agitation that he couldn't remember ever being in for the last five minutes. It wasn't hot and red like being angry usually was for him. It was more cold, clear and scary as shit. With this cold had come a frightening clarity. He couldn't watch Blaine rip Kurt's heart up. Even if he knew that Kurt had fucked up and that Blaine was the wronged party. He wouldn't let these two morons fuck each other up. _God, when did I become the fucking martyr type? _He grumbled under his breath, "Stupid girl emotional bullshit! Fucking soft as shit dumb ass mother fucker! Fuck it!"

He came back into the restaurant with a bang and walking over to the table he put a finger in Blaine's face, "He did something stupid. But so fucking what? People do stupid shit everyday. Look at me! Look at the shit I did to Kurt! I never even though he would willingly be in the same room as me ever again, even to let me apologize! But he did! He's done everything for me! I didn't deserve my second chance! But Kurt does!"

Blaine tried to interrupt, "Dave..."

Dave's gestures got more exaggerated, "I know I'm making a fucking scene! And I don't care! You two are the best friends I've ever had. And you can't let something stupid like a drunk kiss break that up! It would be fucking retarded! You're both so fucking retarded! You're boyfriends! You're best friends. And if you can't see what Kurt is and what he deserves then fuck you!"

Kurt was dumbstruck, gaping at Dave and his rant. He hadn't been expecting that. It sent a stab to his heart knowing that Dave still didn't think he deserved a second chance. Even after all these months. He'd hoped that Dave would believe that he was worthy of happiness.

Blaine touched Dave's arm. The bigger boy looked down into Blaine's brown eyes. And then realized that Blaine was grinning at him. "We're not breaking up Dave."

Dave stopped and looked down from one boy to the other. They were holding hands across the table. He had missed that on the way in. "Oh." Dave said.

"But that was quiet a speech." Blaine added.

Looking around at the shocked patrons and waiters Dave gave an apologetic bob of his head. "Sorry."

Kurt looked around at the other tables, who were giving shocked and unfriendly looks. There was the sound of a baby crying. "Maybe we should relocate?"

Dave's face was flushed red, "Can we please? Maybe there's a rock outside I can crawl under and die?"

"Let's get going." Blaine stood up and left a hefty tip. As an apology.

As they filed passed one table an old lady with her husband shook her head disapprovingly at the three of them. Kurt and Blaine ignored her and kept walking. Dave would've kept moving if he hadn't heard the whispered conversation and the one word in particular from the man, "Abomination."

Dave stopped.

The gray-haired lady looked up at him and gave him a smile as fake as her teeth probably were, "I'll pray for you."

Kurt stopped when heard that. He despised those words and the people that used them like weapons. Blaine had stopped right at the entrance.

Dave looked down at the couple. He had a lot he wanted to say, but all that ended up coming out was "Thank you? Why?"

The lady dropped her eyes from Dave's hard look. The elderly man next to her spoke, "It's never too late to ask for forgiveness. Find a nice girl. Have a family like the Lord intended."

Kurt watched the interchange and could feel his eye begin to twitch. _Nu-uh, No way. _

Dave was still looking at the couple. He was feeling light headed, detached, angry. "Yeah I bet your version of God would love to forgive my gay ass wouldn't he?"

Kurt took a step forward to stop Dave, but Blaine beat him to it. Blaine had been watching very carefully to Dave. This wasn't the first time he'd heard words like that from people, and he knew it wouldn't be the last. But it wasn't the hate that had held his attention it had been Dave saying he was gay out loud in public.

The shorter boy took Dave's hand and opened up the first it had made to intertwine his fingers with Dave's. He put on the most effected and effeminate accent he could manage. "You coming babe?" He put his head on Dave's shoulder and looked at the couple. More accurately he batted his eyes at the couple. "Why hello. Do you know David?"

The couple didn't answer, they seemed to be hypnotized by Blaine's hand as it lazily stroked Dave's arm.

Dave was completely bewildered at the turn of events. But watching the rising discomfort of the couple he had an evil flash in his eyes. "Yeah baby. Let's get going. This nice couple was just saying they'll pray for us."

"That's so nice! Well, Enjoy your meal!" Blaine led Dave to the front. And Kurt nearly burst out laughing. That was until they passed him and Blaine's hand shot out and slapped him right on the ass. He let out a surprised yelp and turned around to see the couple one last time. Kurt looked at their angry faces and gave them a smug smile and a little wave. "Say hi to Jesus for us." Kurt came up to Blaine and Dave outside.

Blaine looked at Kurt for a moment then over to Dave who was leaning against Kurt's car, arms crossed. They were a strange group, the three of them. Blaine never would have guessed that he would end up with these two people in his life. But here they were and he knew that he wanted to make sure that they stayed in his life.

"Warn me next time you want to go all flamboyant on me." Dave grumbled.

"Why?" Blaine said putting the voice back on, "Does it bother you?"

Kurt stifled another laugh.

"No." Dave answered, "It's just really hard to stay angry when you do that voice. You sound like that guy in _The Birdcage._"

"Nathan Lane?" Kurt offered.

"Yeah. That guy."

Kurt smiled "I'm impressed Dave."

Dave shrugged. "It had Robin Williams in it. Dude's funny."

"I haven't seen that movie in ages." Blaine added.

"We should have a movie night sometime." Kurt said.

Dave and Blaine both nodded. Letting the comfortableness of the situation sink in among them. Blaine wished he could've bought that couple there dinner, because it was very possible that they had inadvertently saved his friendships.

Blaine waited for another second before he said, "I need you guys to promise me something."

"What?"Dave asked.

"Anything." Kurt responded.

"No more of this suffer in silence-lying-to-save-Blaine-from-hurting crap from you two. Because weather or not I want to if you guys go all silent on me again I'm going to wonder if it's because history is repeating itself. It's in my head now."

Dave and Kurt both nodded and spoke their agreement. Blaine held out his hand out to Dave. Dave took the curly haired boys hand and dragged him into a hug. Dave gripped the smaller boy, "You get a pass this time cuz it wasn't your fault. But next time Kurt cries I'm following through on the bone breaking threat."

Blaine patted the bigger boy on the back. And said, very low so that only Dave could hear it, "Thank you for caring enough for him to protect him... and stop him."

Dave pulled away and dropped his arms. He didn't respond to what Blaine said. _Maybe he hadn't heard me? _But once Dave let him go Kurt had stepped in front of Blaine. Blaine thought about extending his hand again but decided against it, instead he opened his arms up and let Kurt walk into the hug. Kurt buried his face in Blaine's shoulders and whispered in his ear, "I'm never saying goodbye to you."

That's when Blaine finally had to blink back tears. They'd snuck up on him. He held Kurt tighter. Boyfriends, best friends. Did it matter what he and Kurt were, as long as they had each other? Dave drifted back into Blaine's view from over Kurt's shoulder. That far-off stare that Dave had sometimes was back. As soon as Dave noticed that Blaine was looking at him he gave Blaine a smile. Blaine was sure that Dave had meant for it to be comforting but it wasn't, it was a broken smile. Dave had gone home soon after, saying he didn't really feel like eating out anymore.

Kurt had tried to get Dave to stay with them, to come back and watch the movie at least. But he'd just shaken his head. He had put a hand on Kurt's shoulder, "Chill out Fancy. I'm fine. I just want to go home and shoot some zombies. Decompress. I'll call you tomorrow or something. Okay?"

Kurt had finally let him go. As they watched him pull off Kurt had talked Blaine into staying over in the guest room for the night. Blaine hadn't really wanted to drive home anyway. Carol had ordered pizza for them when they got home. They had sat in Kurt's room watching movies, mostly in silence. They had made it through but now that they were alone together they were both fragile and tentative. Kurt had finally taken Blaine's hand and held it. Blaine knew that Kurt did this when he wanted comfort, when he wanted to feel connected to another person.

"You mean the world to me." Kurt spoke into the room. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know."

Blaine had held his hand until it was they were ready to go to bed. After that little exchange they hadn't talked much more, Blaine knew that Kurt was working through his own thoughts as was he. Blaine had one image in particular that he was thinking about. That smile Dave had given him while he was hugging Kurt. Something about it had deeply bothered Blaine, like he'd missed something important somehow. He wasn't sure why he had become so obsessed at finding a name for it, but it was taking up a great deal of his thoughts. All he'd been able to finally figure out that it wasn't the smile that bothered him, it was the feeling he'd gotten when he'd seen it. But now he couldn't think of the word for the way he felt about it either. Blaine had finally fallen asleep in Kurt's guest bedroom at 3am without a satisfactory answer. _Maybe tomorrow..._

Dave had driven straight home and gone up to his room. His mom had come up a few minutes later to knock lightly, poking her head in to ask if everything was alright.

"I'm fine. I don't wanna talk about it."

She gave him a sad smile, "Okay David. But if you need to. I'm here."

"I know. Thanks mom."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

When she left Dave had sat in his room, thinking. Or trying not to think. He stood up and paced around before turning on his computer. He needed music, something loud and angry, something to shut his brain up. All he could think about was what Blaine had said to him when they hugged. _Thank you for caring enough for him to protect him... and stop him. _He'd thought it before but at that moment, he knew that he was the third wheel on Kurt and Blaine's big gay bicycle. And he wasn't even a useful spare third wheel, he was a fucking flat third wheel. Half-out/half-in the closet.

He thought about the couple in the resturant. How easy it had been to say he was gay to them. Why couldn't he do that all the time? How could he be so worried about what a bunch of dumb-fucks in school thought about him when he'd very nearly lost the people that had probably kept him from ending up in prison or killing himself? _I was on my way to becoming a statistic..._

It had been Dave's issues that had made Kurt sneak, tiptoe and walk on eggshells for months. It had wrapped them up together in this secret little world. A place that even Blaine hadn't been wholly welcome. Had that made Kurt kiss him? This weird thing that he had created because he'd been so scared? Kurt deserved to spend time with people like Blaine. People that could be out and courageous and all that shit. And people were still figuring Dave out anyway, his secrets were like sand through fingers. It was never going to last forever. He knew that Blaine had picked that restaurant to make sure that Dave wouldn't be worrying about people they knew over hearing them. Was that why he had been able to face down that old couple? It had felt good. And the way that Kurt had looked at him after... He'd promised Blaine no more of this suffer in silence crap hadn't he? What did that even fucking mean? What could Dave do to prove that he could make good? He caught sight of himself the reflection of his TV. He stopped pacing and looked at the murky outline of this shape in the black screen.

He made a fist and put his hand through his wall.

Dave looked at the hole around his wrist. _Huh, that hadn't hurt nearly as much as I'd expected. _He tried to pull his hand out. But it didn't budge. Dave made a face, thinking what his mom would say if he had to call her up to his room to get his hand out of the wall. _She'll freak out. _

Dave pulled again and this time there was a little give. He kept pulling, very slowly, until his hand came out of the wall. It was covered in white plaster dust and his knuckles were cut and bleeding. He looked down at his hand, finally trying to open and close it. He could, but it hurt like a bitch. _Very effective way to deal with your life Dave. _He knew it had been a stupid thing to do. He could have hit a beam just as easily and broken his hand. Football next year could've been toast. Just because he'd lost his temper.

_Stop being such a melodramatic dumbass._ He smiled since those words had sounded to him like Kurt's voice. Kurt would've probably said it different though like _stop being a drama llama_ or something. As he watched the blood ooze out of the gouges in his knuckles it came to him. It was time. No more hiding. _Santana's going to be pissed. _But really, everyone that really mattered already knew.

Going back over to his computer he opened up facebook and went to his preferences. _There, all done._ He let out a deep sigh and pressed save. That was that. It was a small step but fuck it. If he could deal with a couple of old jackasses in a random restaurant he could do this. He felt a little sad knowing that he was losing the secret that had brought him and Kurt together in the first place. But this had to happen. It was the only way to move forward now. _Wonder what people will say on Monday? _He was surprised to realize that he really didn't fucking care. "Cool."

Dave went into his bathroom and ran his hand under the water. Thinking that if he moved one of his posters his parents would never know about the hole in the wall. _Maybe. _


	13. Don't You Remember

_Okay! So I just crossed the 100 alerts mark! Which is so amazing! Thank you guys so much for reading and enjoying! And I just want to say that it feels so damn good to be a Pirate after this weeks Prom Queen episode! Next Chapter is going to be in New York baby! Lots of love to all of the readers and reviewers! _

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**Chapter 13 – Don't You Remember**

_ ~Baby, please remember me once more, Gave you the space so you could breathe, I kept my distance so you would be free, In hope that you'd find the missing piece, To bring you back to me~_

**Saturday **

Dave woke up to the sound of his cell phone ringing. He slapped his hand over his nightstand until he found the damn thing, wincing when the scrapes and bruises on his hand came in contact with the wood. "What?" he coughed into the phone.

It was Azimio, "Dude. You've been fraped."

Dave coughed into the phone again clearing his throat. "I'm going to murder you and all of your children if you are calling me about fucking coffee."

"Say what? Bitch I didn't say frap I said frape. As in Facebook raped. Why the shit would I be calling you about coffee?"

Dave opened one eye to see what time it was, 10 something. "I dunno." _Because I hang out with two serial coffee addicts?_ Dave was remembering one Sunday when Kurt had called him to tell him about some new flavored fruity coffee at the Lima Bean and that he had to come try it with him and Blaine…It had been pink. It had tasted like crap. Dave had not been happy.

"Did you go to the Apple Store and forget to log out again?"

"What? No."

"Well it says that you're interested in men now."

"Oh yeah, that…I did that last night."

Silence…

"Az, Z, you there?"

"Why in the fuck did you change it?"

"Why not?" Dave said defensively.

Azimio's voice was low and sounded somewhere between disappointment and a whine. "Duuude."

"It's not like everybody doesn't already know." Dave grumbled into the receiver.

"This is different."

"How?"

"All that shit before? That was other people talking. This is you waving a big-red homo flag in everyone's face."

"I know." There was another long pause, "Is this going to be a problem?"

Az mumbled something that sounded like a long string of curse words before he said, "No. But you couldn't've waited until the last day of school or something?"

"Dude, I will come out when I fucking feel like it. And last night I fucking felt like it. So lay off!"

Azimio gave a grudging grunt of acknowledgment, "Whatever, you're doing my summer school work if I get suspended for kicking the shit out of some dumb fucks that smart off about you and your love of cock."

Dave rolled onto his back saying in his best girly voice, "My hero."

Azimio chuckled, "Shut up gaylord. We still playing basketball tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Four right?"

"Sounds good. See you then man."

"Yup."

"Peace."

And just like that Azimio had hung up and Dave let the phone drop down next to his head. Now that he was awake his hand had begun to throb dully. He tried to go back to sleep but after a few minutes of tossing and turning he knew it was a futile effort. He rolled and grabbed his phone again getting online to see what the damage was…

After scrolling for five minutes he realized that there really wasn't a whole lot to see. It pissed him off, seeing how many people thought he'd been hacked. But most of the people that had commented weren't really friends, just random school peeps. He reminded himself that he had changed it pretty late last night and it was only Saturday morning. He shrugged to himself, wondering what he'd been expecting. _Not indifference. _He shrugged again and went down stairs in search of breakfast.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

Kurt had woken up and done his normal skin care routine. He loved Saturday mornings like this. Knowing that he could relax and had nowhere to be he decided to put on a mask today and just revel in the leisure time he'd found himself in. Blaine wouldn't be awake for another hour at least. Kurt thought about Blaine sleeping in the next room and that Dave had promised to call him today. He let out a contented little sigh. Everything was back to normal. He hummed gently to himself and decided to check his email while waiting for the mask to set. He took his computer off sleep and clicked on his new email notifications...

_No. Freakin'. Way._

"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!"

Kurt's cries woke Blaine. He rolled/tripped out of bed and flung open his door. Running toward Kurt's voice. He very nearly collided with Burt and Finn outside of Kurt's door. Burt was the first inside, holding a baseball bat, yelling, "Kurt! What's wrong? Are you okay? Are the mice back?" They had had a small vermin infestation two months ago... The memories of which still made Kurt check all his shoes before he put them on.

Kurt turned his face around and Finn let out an actual shriek at the sight. "Dude! Your face! It's purple! Maybe you're having an allergic reaction to peanuts or dust or something?"

Kurt's hand came up to his face. He'd forgotten all about the mask. He rolled his eyes at his brother. "This is a mask Finn. It helps keep my skin looking the way it does. It's either this or bathing in the blood of young virgins."

"Oh, and ew."

Burt folded his arms and repeated, "Are you okay?"

Kurt took in all three men for a second. Both his dad and Blaine had looks of concern on their faces. Finn had probably looked concerned now he just looked grossed out. He stood up and came over to hug first his dad then Blaine. "I'm so sorry. Every thing's fine. I'm totally okay. No mice, no spiders, no axe-wielding murderers."

Burt let out a sigh of relief. "Then what on Earth were you yelling about in here?"

Worry flashed through Kurt as he saw his dad rub a hand over his chest a little. "Are you okay dad?"

Burt looked at his son then his hand and dropped it to his side, "Yeah. A-okay kiddo. Just try to remember that you scream really loud. So next time take it easy on me."

Kurt nodded. Burt smiled at him and Kurt was trying not to smile and crack the mask. But finally he couldn't help it. He clapped his hands together and said, "What I was yelling about was that Dave just came out!"

"What?" Both Blaine and Finn said at the same time.

"Didn't we already know he was gay though?" Finn asked confused.

"Yes. But he just announced it on facebook! I'm so excited and terrified for him! I may pass out...or throw up."

Blaine moved to the computer, "Did he really?" He read the news feed and nodded his head, "Wow. Not my first guess at how he would do it."

Burt patted his son on the back, "That's great. I'm happy for him and you and whoever else should be congratulated on things like this. But next time you scream bloody murder on a Saturday morning there better be something in here for me to protect you from or kill."

Kurt bobbed his head. "Sorry. I'll try and go for quiet euphoria for the rest of the day."

"Thank you." He moved back out into the hall, "Carol made that crepe recipe you taught her last week. So you three should come down before stuff gets cold."

Kurt bounded over to the computer to look over Blaine's shoulder. Finn made his way over too. Kurt left the two boys at the computer to rinse the mask off. When he came back Finn was sitting on Kurt's bed and Blaine was still on his chair. They stopped talking when he came in.

"What?"

Blaine shook his head, "Nothing, we're talking about Dave. And what we can do for him now that he's made it official."

Finn squinted an eye as he thought, "I think we should just keep doing what we've been doing. I mean nothing has changed for us."

Blaine replied, "But this changes everything for him."

Kurt walked over to the vanity looking for a certain cream he wanted. Thinking to himself as he went. After finding and applying the one he wanted he said. "Why don't we ask him?" Blaine and Finn looked over at him. Kurt gave them a shrug and said, "Really? Did that not occur to either of you?" From the blank looks he was getting Kurt knew the answer. "Right. Okay. I'll call him after breakfast."

Finn piped up, "We could hit the mall."

Kurt perked up at the idea, "Yes! Perfect timing for me to buy last minute extra's before Nationals."

Blaine had remained quiet, thinking to himself.

Finn stood up and moved to leave. "Okay. Cool. I'll see you guys down stairs."

After Finn closed the door behind him Kurt turned to Blaine. He looked at the dark haired boy and sucked his bottom lip in his teeth waiting for Blaine to say something. He'd been very quiet. Finally Kurt spoke, "Do you think it was because of those two at the restaurant last night?"

Blaine looked up at Kurt. He wanted to touch Kurt's face, to smooth away that frown he could see on the boy's forehead. He made his way over to the vanity to sit down closer to Kurt, "Maybe. Who knows?"

Blaine wasn't exactly sure what to think. But he had a feeling that Dave's facebook announcement was connected to that weird feeling he'd had since last night. The one that he still didn't have a name for yet.

Kurt took one of Blaine's hands in his and spoke softly, "Did you rush in here with my father and Finn to save me?"

Blaine looked down at the sleep pants he was wearing and the giant super-man t-shirt he'd borrowed from Finn, "Yeah. I guess I did. You sounded like you were being chopped into sushi."

Kurt giggled and squeezed his hand, "My hero."

Blaine finally cracked a smile and returned Kurt's pressure on his hand. "So we going down to eat crepe's or what? I'm starving."

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Dave wasn't surprised that Rachel Berry was the first person to like his update. He'd only skimmed the ridiculously long and extremely overwritten message about the road to acceptance she'd written him though. But he did appreciate the gesture. _Even if she worded it in the most annoying way possible._ His phone rang and the tune for Barbie Girl came on. He looked to see who was calling..._Kurt. _The ring tone must have been Santana's idea of a joke. He knew he should've changed his password as soon as she figured it out, he hadn't even known that she'd changed Kurt's ring tone.

"Hey."

Kurt's voice was breathy and he spoke fast. "Be ready in 20 minutes."

"For what?" Dave frowned. He'd been expecting Kurt to say something about him coming out officially. He was a bit thrown.

"We're abducting you and taking you to the mall."

Dave's frowned deepened. "Who's we?"

"Finn, Blaine and I."

_The Usual suspects. _"Uh, alright. Lemme just throw some clothes on."

"You now have 18 minutes."

Dave could hear Kurt's grin through the phone. It made him smile. "Then let me hang up already."

"You're the one still talking."

"I'm going now..."

"So am I."

Silence.

Dave waited but he could still hear Kurt breathing on the other side of the line. "You're still on the phone Kurt."

Kurt sighed and let out a light laugh. "You said you were leaving. Oh whatever! You now have 15 minutes! Bye!" Kurt hung up.

Dave heard Kurt's car pull up almost exactly 15 minutes later... His mom and dad were out so he just walked out the door and locked it behind him. He jogged over to the SUV and jumped into the back next to Finn. They talked easily about New York and their schedule. There would be time for sightseeing, but where did they want to go? Finn Dave almost said "_Madison Square Garden."_ in unison. Kurt wanted to see Wicked at the Gershwin. Blaine actually blushed a little when he said he wanted to try to get into night club. _"I really wanna go dancing."_

Dave leaned his head back and just let the tension drain out of his shoulders. This was relaxed, easy. But he got suspicious as the car ride continued and no one mentioned anything about his little online announcement.

Finn turned to Dave, "Dude, what are you doing tomorrow? You wanna rehearse Nationals steps with me? I keep forgetting the middle."

Dave grunted, "I'm meeting up with Az at four to play some basketball. If you wanna hang we could do dance stuff after."

Blaine's ears perked up. "A basketball game? You got room for one more?"

Dave looked at Blaine, "You play?"

"Not since Jr. High. But I still love it."

"Well," Dave said, "If Finn's coming then yeah, we could do teams of two."

Kurt let out a little huff. He hated being excluded when they all did their sports talk. "I'll come and cheer." He flashed definite look at everyone in the car, "Unless one of you has a problem with that?"

"Calm down Fancy. You can come watch." Dave wondered how Az would react to Blaine and Kurt showing up…_He'll get over it._

As they got out of the car and walked toward the mall Dave couldn't take it anymore. "Just so you know. I heard about that flash mob shit you did with Rachel when she was going through that nose crap. So if I see synchronized dancers anywhere around me I'm so outta here."

Finn shrugged, "Don't look at me man. I never know what's going on."

Blaine laughed.

Kurt put a hand on his hip as he walked, "We only stage flash mobs when a musical intervention is needed. So you're safe…for now."

"That fills me with such confidence." Dave retorted.

It was a good day. And Dave found himself really appreciating good days lately. The four of them were sitting together in the coffee shop.

"No really, all three of us have one." Blaine said.

"One what?" Finn asked confused.

"A fabulous hag." Blaine continued.

Dave tilted his head to the side. "I dare you to call Santana my hag when she's in earshot."

"I always considered myself my own hag." Kurt said smiling as he sipped his drink.

Blaine shook his head, "No way. Mercedes is totally yours."

Dave gave Blaine an incredulous smile, "And who's yours Eyebrows?"

Blaine lifted a shoulder and said very pleased with himself, "That's easy. Mine's Rachel."

Kurt snorted into his coffee. "I find it rather hilarious both of you have made out with yours."

Blaine wiggled his eyebrows, "You made out with Brittany."

"But she's not my hag. As you previously stated."

Kurt glanced at Finn who was slowly pouring sugar packets into a little pile on the table. He seemed to getting more and more uncomfortable. Kurt caught Blaine's eyes and flicking his eyes to Dave quickly he then tilted his head toward his tall and gawky brother.

Blaine knew what Kurt was on about almost immediately, "Hey Finn?"

Finn looked up from the sugar pyramid, eyes tinged with worry, "Yeah?"

"I wanna go look at a few new guitar strings. Come help me out will ya?"

Letting out a sigh of relief Finn stood up nodding, "Sure. Yeah. Sounds good. Maybe we can pick up an extra set for Sam while we're there."

"Sounds good." Blaine looked over his shoulder at Dave and Kurt, "We'll be back in a little bit."

Dave watched the two boys walk off, talking and laughing. His eyes traveled over to Kurt, who was just sitting there, watching him. _Oh, man. They planned this. _Dave was really hoping that they wouldn't have to rehash anything from the night before. That they could all just be happy and be friends. _Just one day without the drama, God. That's all I wanted._

"I saw what you did online."

Dave let out the breath he'd been holding. This was about his announcement. Not about after Prom, not about last night. Things really were going to be okay between all of them.

"I'm really proud of you." Kurt hadn't meant to blurt it out like that. He'd wanted to lead up to it. To say a bunch of things before that one line. But as soon as he'd looked at Dave those were the words falling out of his mouth.

The corner of Dave's mouth twitched into a tiny smile. Dave's voice was very low, but not because he was afraid of being over heard. "Thanks...For sticking with me through all this."

Kurt could feel a tiny prickle of tears welling up. Why was he about to cry? He pushed the tears down, "Is there anything I can do? That we can do, to make next week easier on you?"

Dave shook his head, "You mean besides everything you've already done? What all of you have done? Nothing really. Let's just get through it and then go have a blast in New York." Dave tried to stay sitting. Tried to look at Kurt but couldn't. He had such a hard time when Kurt looked at him like he was now. Like he could read between every line that Dave had ever said. Dave stood up and threw away his half-finished drink. When he turned back around Kurt was standing right behind him.

Kurt looked up at Dave. Their heights weren't too different but he still had to look up a little. "You know you deserve it right?"

"What?" Dave breathed out.

"To be happy."

Dave leaned against the closest wall, dropping his eyes from the smaller boy. "Sometimes I have a hard time with that." He lifted his eyes back up to Kurt's.

"I know…I know." Kurt looked up at Dave for what seemed like a long time. He watched something pass through Dave's eyes before the jock was suddenly smiling from ear to ear. "What?"

Dave put a hand over his face as he tried not to burst into laughter.

"What?" Kurt said again, a bit more indignantly.

Dave just shook his head again. "I think you've ruined me. Or maybe it was my mom." Dave's mom had what he had always considered an unhealthy obsession with Rodgers and Hammerstein. When he was a little kid his mom would sit him on the couch with her and they would watch all those old musicals together. It had always been something that just him and his mom did together. As Dave got older he had wished his mom could have had another kid, a girl. He knew that she would have loved having a daughter to primp and play with. But all she'd been able to have was him and all his oafishness. In second grade Azimio had teased Dave a lot about the musical thing when they first became friends. So he'd never talked about it anyone else. Kurt had been the first person he'd ever told. Kurt had been thrilled when Dave had told him, months and months ago. But Dave didn't know if Kurt would even remember.

Kurt put his hands on his hips and raised one prefect eyebrow. "How's that?"

Dave realized that he had to explain because Kurt was about two seconds away from working himself up to being offended. He'd cornered himself so he would have to just come out and say it. "Don't look at me like that. I was laughing because I suddenly have a song from The Sound of Music stuck in my head."

Kurt's hands went from his hips to being clasped in front of him. He was such a sucker for The Sound of Music, it was his one true weakness. "Which song?"

Dave blushed furiously._ Ah, shit._ "The one that goes all like somewhere in my wicked childhood, I must've done something good." He half spoke, half sung the line. He knew that he was butchering it but he did it anyway.

Kurt's hands dropped to his sides. His eyes widening and his lips trembling just a little. "That might be one of the sweetest things anyone has ever told me." Some kind of wall had fallen away. Kurt felt like he was suddenly missing a layer of skin, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling.

Dave looked away from Kurt, "Aw man, please don't cry. I never know what to do when you cry. Usually I just end up yelling at things...or hitting something." He touched his bruised right hand gently with his left.

Kurt once again found it in him to hold back the tears. Glancing down at Dave's hand he gasped and reached for it. "What did you do?"

Dave let Kurt take his big, calloused hand in his two white, delicate ones. His eyes flicked to Kurt's face sheepishly. "I put a hole in my wall last night." Kurt's fingers brushed over the scabs and green/yellow bruises and Dave's heart clenched. He carefully took his hand back from Kurt and put it in his jacket pocket.

Kurt gave him a disapproving look, "You really are a Neanderthal sometimes. Punching holes in walls? Really? How very macho."

"Stop giving me a hard time Fancy."

"Stop trying to break yourself."

Dave chuckled then looked up, "Come on. I see Blaine and Finn."

They walked off toward the two approaching boys. Dave letting out a long inward sigh. Whatever had just happened between them. That proved it. He wasn't going to lose Kurt. He had thought as much last night. But now he knew it.

Kurt was looking over at Dave as they walked. Something was different now. Maybe it was because Dave had let go of that final bit of mask. Kurt smiled.

Blaine had been walking with Finn, laughing about instrument horror stories. When Finn said, "There they are."

Blaine turned his head and saw Dave and Kurt walking together toward them. Dave was looking at them but Kurt, Kurt was looking up at Dave smiling. Blaine stopped and watched them walk. That's when it hit him like a bolt of lightning. Watching Kurt smile up at Dave like that, Blaine didn't feel jealous. He knew that he probably should have. But seeing them walking with each other with that look on Kurt's face all he could think about was how happy Kurt looked. And how happy that made Blaine to see. _Oh.  
_

When Dave and Kurt finally caught up to them Kurt asked, "Did you get any strings?"

"We got a set for Sam. His guitar is in a bad way." Finn said.

Kurt came over and gave Blaine a hug. Blaine returned the hug. And then leaned back so say to him and Dave, "Good talk?"

Dave and Kurt both nodded. Kurt still smiling.

Kurt clapped his hands together and said, "Okay! So who's ready for New York?"


	14. Tired

_Sorry for making everyone wait! This chapter was originally going to have the Nationals competition in it as well but I felt that it needed to be cut down so the actual competition and it's fallout will be in the next chapter. I've been saying it every time and I will never get tired of saying it; thank you so, so much to all of you readers and reviewers! Thank you for all of the alerts. I am so happy that people have enjoyed and continue to enjoy this story. _

* * *

**Chapter 14- Tired**

_~I'm between the middle watching hastiness unfold, in my eyes you were smiling in the spotlight, dancing with the night, the night fell off your mind~ _

**Thursday (night before heading to New York)**

Dave eyed Santana as she rummaged around his room, flinging clothes to and fro, yelling at him to get his tooth brush and deodorant. _This is what she calls helping me pack for New York?_ Her mom and her were probably fighting again. She only got all militant like this when they did. Not that Dave was complaining. He was actually very grateful for the distraction. He had been avoiding his suitcase for over an hour before she'd called. He was pretty sure though that even if Santana and her mom weren't fighting she still would have come over to his place to help him pack and calm down. _Could be worse. Az could be trying to help me pack..._

Dave had been procrastinating because the more he thought about packing the more he thought about getting on a plane tomorrow. And that thought was making him nervous. Dave had only been on one flight before and it had been the most horrifying experience ever. He hated flying. Hated it with a burning passion. He hadn't wanted to talk about it but Santana, Kurt and Blaine had gotten it out of him today at lunch. Apparently he'd been making his "angry face" all day. He sighed. These were benefits of having good hearted friends that also took great joy in meddling with his life.

"This one?" Santana said, lifting up a not-quite-so-wrinkled shirt.

"Give it here." Dave replied reaching a hand out. Santana tossed it over and Dave gave it a small sniff. "Yeah. This one's okay." He tossed it at the small suitcase in the corner.

Santana's nose wrinkled, "That's gross."

He shrugged, "How else are you supposed to know if they're clean?"

She gave him a side-long look of disapproval while picking another shirt off the floor, "How about…" She paused when she saw the stains on the shirt. Opening it up more she could see a bunch of little paint splatters on the front. "Dave?"

It always sounded a little strange to him when Santana used his first name. He really liked that most people in Glee called him Dave now but Santana still almost always called him Karofsky. But he didn't mind it. Santana made his last name sound like a term of endearment rather than a curse word. He looked up and seeing which shirt she was holding he jumped up, tugged it out of her hands quickly, rolled it into a ball and threw it under his bed.

"What the hell was that?" Santana said moving toward the bed, about to go after the shirt.

Dave got in her way. "It's nothing."

She put her hands on her hips and gave him a glare. "Bullshit!"

Dave sat down on his bed, his tongue darting out across his upper lip. "They're just paintball stains."

"Doing a lot of secret, late-night paint balling lately?" her voice dripped with sarcasm.

Dave sighed a shook his head. "Some douche bags did a drive by on me Tuesday after I got home. Rolled up, yelled my name and some other…stuff. Then opened fire when I turned around."

"Seriously? Do you know who it was? Give me names and I swear I'll make it look like a _painful_ accident."

He smiled at her. "I think it was probably some of the hockey guys. I don't know for sure. It wasn't a car I knew. But they knew where I live..." He rubbed his hand over his head, "I figured something like that would happen this week. At least it was a shirt I don't really like."

Santana's shoulders sagged as she sat down next to him. "I really hoped the week wasn't going too bad. It didn't seem to be all that bad for you."

Dave let out a mirthless laugh, "You're kidding right? The paintball thing is the worst by far and no one's slushied me but I can feel people starring at me in the hallways. It gets worse if I'm walking anywhere near Kurt or Blaine. People suddenly stop talking around me when I sit down in class. I know they're talking about me. Most of the football team won't look me in the eye anymore." He smiled a little, "But once practice starts I'll make sure they know I can still hit."

"I get that you needed to come out. But all that shit you just said…that's why I just…I can't. I don't think I ever will…Not at school anyway."

Dave looked over and pulled Santana into a one-armed hug, "I get it. It's okay. Just because I did doesn't mean you have to. But I need you to promise to shut up about the paintball thing. The last thing I need is Az going all psycho slashing tires while I'm in New York."

Santana rested her head in the space between Dave's shoulder and chest. "I don't know how you're doing it."

"Doing what?"

"Keeping your shit together."

"Me either. It's probably your fault." The problems at school and the approaching terror of getting on a plane had been sort of canceling each other out in his head. It was weird, but the two separate issues had given him something else to focus on when one of them was over whelming him. But he'd been prepared for the backlash of coming out officially. Well, as prepared as he could be. He kept trying to take the bad things as a penance of sorts and it had been working so far…sometimes it was nice to have Catholic guilt built in to him.

Santana's smile was a little sad when she said, "Of all the things I've been blamed for. I really wish that one was true."

He tightened his grip around her. "You don't think you've helped me?"

"Not as much as certain other people who shall remain nameless. Let's just call him Ladylips." Santana said looking up at him.

Dave just let his head rock side to side for a moment, thinking about that but decided to just let it go. "You gonna sit next to me on the plane tomorrow? Hold my hand and shit?"

She patted him on the leg, "Sorry babe. I know you've got plane issues but I'm sitting next to my girl Mercedes. She and I have plans for our free day in the city to finish hashing out."

He dropped his arm and gave her a pout. "It's cool. I see how it is. I come out and now you want nothing to do with me. What a bitch."

Santana poked at his shoulder. "I didn't want to do_ anything with you before_ you came out. Sorry, not boobalicious enough for me."

Dave looked down at his chest, "Whatever, I totally have man boobs."

"Oh, really?" With a playful smile Santana grabbed at Dave's chest, sliding her hands slipping into his collared shirt and over his t-shirt, "These are the most pathetic excuses for man boobs I have ever seen."

Dave grabbed at her wrists, "Christ! You and your damn grabby hands!" He got off the bed and retreated to the other side of the room.

She gave a small shrug, "Not my fault I'm missing the gene that senses personal bubbles."

They went back to sorting through clothes for a few more minutes before Dave said, "If you ever do feel like it…I'm with you all the way. You know that right?" He knew he didn't have to say _feel like coming out_ she'd get it.

Santana didn't look up from the pile she was sifting through, "I know. But don't hold your breath. Not while I'm living with my mom and going to McKinley. Not all of us are as lucky as you boys."

Dave sat back on his floor and watched Santana throw a pair of jeans at the suitcase. He could have had shitty parents. Kurt, Az, Blaine, Santana and the rest of the glee club hadn't had to be so supportive. _Stupid lucky. _That's what he knew he was. _Stupidly lucky. _

**Friday**

_Three days and four nights in New York. Three days and four nights in New York…_ These were the words that Dave kept repeating over and over in his mind as he gripped his armrests. He could feel a bead of sweat roll down his temple but he couldn't lift a hand to wipe it away. He just squeezed his eyes shut and prayed that the damn plane would just take off already. _What are we waiting for?_ He knew he should probably be excited that he was sitting in first class. And it was pretty damn swank but he just couldn't get around the cold rock of fear in his stomach. He glanced across the aisle to where Santana was already asleep next to Mercedes. _God, how can she be sleeping?_ He shut his eyes again. Trying to breath.

"Dave, what's wrong? Are you alright?" Mr. Shue asked from the seat next to him. Dave didn't open his eyes. Couldn't answer.

Kurt's voice, soft and low answered from in front of them, "It's anxiety. He doesn't like flying." Kurt turned so he could see Dave. The bigger boy looked absolutely terrified and they hadn't even taken off yet. Dave had been out of sorts all week. And originally Kurt had just thought it was fallout from Dave coming out. But yesterday at lunch Dave had finally exploded and let them know that he was "_not afraid of being a goddamn fag! I'm afraid of fucking flying!"_ Kurt hated that Dave still used that word. But him using it showed just how stressed he really was. While walking to the parking lot after glee Kurt had asked Dave if he needed anything. Dave had just shaken his head, _"Doc gave me meds to take. I just hate the idea of sitting in a metal tube thousands of miles in the sky. Shit is freaky as hell."_

_ "It won't be that bad promise. It's not a long flight anyway."_

_ "Don't you ever get scared?"_

_ "Of course."_

_ "What are you scared of?"_

_ "Losing my dad. Watching the people I love die. Being alone."_

_ "Sorry for yelling earlier."_

_ "Tell you what? If you look like you're having a really hard time on the plane I'll come sit with you. Okay?"_

_ "Thanks Kurt." _

Kurt thought about the look Dave had given him when Kurt had talked about what he was afraid of. He'd never said those things out loud before, but the look that Dave had given him afterward had made it worth it.

Looking back again at Dave's ashen face Kurt's tongue touched the corner of his mouth for a moment before turning to look at Blaine, who was sitting next to him. The corners of Blaine's face tugged up in a small smile, but it didn't reach his whole face. Blaine had been smiling like that all week. Kurt knew that they were still working through stuff but this strange and fragile barrier seemed to have developed between them. Kurt wished he could just get through it but the more he pushed at it the harder it seemed to get. He reached out a hand and Blaine took it. _Or maybe it's all in my head?_

Blaine looked at Kurt for a second before he nodded.

Kurt's brow furrowed, "How did you know I was going to ask something?"

Blaine's smile widened just a bit, "Because I know you." He let go of Kurt's hand and did a little _shoo_ movement with his hand, "Go on. Poor guy needs it."

Kurt smiled mouthing _Thank you. _Then turned back around, "Hey, Mr. Shue can we switch?"

Mr. Shue took one more concerned look at Dave, then got up and quickly switched seats with Kurt. Giving Kurt a grateful pat on the back as they passed.

Kurt buckled up and then turned his attention back to the bigger boy next to him. "Dave?"

Dave jumped at Kurt's now much closer voice. His mouth was completely dry but he managed to croak out, "Yeah?"

"You remember the pills you were telling me about? The one's that Dr. Shane gave you for the trip?"

Dave managed out a strangled, "Yes."

"Where are they?"

"Backpack."

Kurt leaned down and worked the backpack out from under the seat just enough to open the front pocket and find the little bottle. "How many were you supposed to take?"

"One."

Kurt examined the bottle. It looked like it hadn't been opened. "Let me guess…you didn't take one before getting on the plane?"

"I didn't want to take it if I didn't need it." He'd told himself that he felt okay while they were sitting at the gate. That he would be fine.

Kurt let out a little huff. "Stupid."

"Stubborn." Dave offered trying to smile.

"Same difference." Kurt reached up to hit the call button to ask for some water when the engines roared and the plane began to taxi down the runway. Dave's eyes snapped open at the sound. Kurt reach out and took Dave's hand and held it tightly. "You're totally fine. It's just a little longer. This is the worst part. Deep breath." Kurt just kept talking to him in that same soft, calm tone until they leveled off. Kurt could feel Dave begin to loosen up after a long while. He patted Dave's hand lightly and then drew his own back. "See, you made it."

Dave gave Kurt a sickly smile, "Thanks. Remind me on Monday to just take the damn pill."

"You got it."

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooOoO**

The rest of the flight had gone pretty smoothly except for when Puck tried to get "the wave" going in the entire first class section. The flight attendants had been less than pleased. But the glee club was mostly just into living it up while they had the chance here in first class. Kurt wished that they could have come in at night so he could see the lights from the sky. But it was only the late morning when they touched down. The airport had been basically a blur of baggage checks and tourism kiosks. They had followed signs to the airport shuttle bus heading to their hotel.

It didn't actually sink in until Kurt stepped off the bus at the hotel. His eyes were wide and bright, just trying to take in everything that he could. The lights, the sounds, the air (okay yes, it was a big, dirty city but DAMN IT! He was in New York!) He was so excited he was bouncing as he walked towards the hotel entrance.

"You kinda remind of a Jack Russel Terrier when you do that." Dave said watching the slender boy.

Kurt shot him a look, "If I'm a Jack Russel Then you're a Saint Bernard."

"Just cuz I'm big?"

"Well you remind me of the Saint Bernard in the Beethoven movies."

Dave gave him a lopsided smile. "Gee, thanks Fancy."

"Don't pout. You started it."

"What am I?" Blaine asked from the other side of Kurt.

Dave made a big deal of studying Blaine before saying, "Poodle."

Kurt snorted and Blaine gave him a look, "Why a Poodle?"

"Cuz you're small and fighty but also kinda fluffy sometimes."

"Are you making fun of my hair Karofsky?" Blaine asked, walking over and giving Dave a little shove.

Dave turned to and appealed to Kurt, "See what I'm saying? Fighty."

They laughed and trotted to catch up with the rest of the group.

After they checked in, dropped off their bags, got their room keys (and changed if they were Kurt and Rachel.) Mr. Shue ushered them into the foyer of the hotel for a moment. "Okay guys. So you have all of today to explore. Here are the rules; you always need to have a buddy. No wandering around on your own. And we are meeting here to eat dinner together at 7:30. Tomorrow morning we have mike checks and a chance to dress rehearse on the stage. So we need to be ready at 10. The competition starts Sunday morning. This hotel has several other clubs in it. So be respectful. Curfew tonight is at 11. We clear?" When everyone nodded he said, "Alright. Have a good time."

The club all nodded their agreement and immediately started breaking apart. Dave watched Santana, Mercedes and Quinn take off first. Brittany, Artie, Tina and Mike made a group and left. Puck, Lauren, Sam and Finn were right on their heels. Dave had been expecting the groups to shake out like they were. What he hadn't been expecting was Rachel and Kurt to walk off laughing, arm in arm. He finally turned and saw Blaine looking at him expectantly.

"Guess it's just you and me." Blaine said.

Dave walked over to the shorter boy, "I kinda feel like the kid that got picked last in gym. Not that I would know, but I've heard stories."

Blaine laughed, "We're still kinda outsiders in their world. They've been waiting a long time for this."

"I thought for sure you and Kurt would be making a day of it."

Blaine just gave a noncommittal shrug, "Kurt's his own person. And as much as I love Wicked, I know how badly Rachel and him have been wanting to fangirl all over it and I just didn't think I could handle the levels they were talking about."

Dave chuckled, "Doesn't surprise me. So, what cha wanna go see first?"

"Since this is your first time. Let's do all the fun touristy stuff. I know some pretty cool places my mom took me to when we went."

"Lead the way man."

"Don't mind if I do."

They headed off, side by side, talking happily.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

It had been a great day...no, it had been an awesome fucking day so far. Times Square had been amazing and so had The Garden. Dave loved how insane New York felt. All the sounds and the people it was intense but pretty cool. He didn't know if he could live here but it was definitely somewhere he wanted to come back to. Blaine and Dave had managed to cover a lot of ground by two o'clock. So now they were sitting in a pizzeria eating and just chilling out for a bit.

Blaine took a bite of pizza and chewed for a minute before he started speaking, "One of my buddies from Dalton. He came from Chicago. And he told me that there are three major schools of pizza; Chicago, New York and New Haven. After I heard that I made it a life goal to try all three schools. I now only have New Haven to go."

"Most of my dad's family lives in the South. They have a similar take on BBQ. Not grilling. But legit, hose-you-down-afterward BBQ."

"This that whole argument about like Georgia and coleslaw in BBQ thing comes from?"

"Maybe. Really I couldn't care less what school it's from. If it takes good I'm going to eat it. Simple as that." Dave picked up another slice.

"Totally."

Dave chewed and swallowed before he asked, "Do you miss Dalton?"

Blaine was surprised by the question. He set his pizza down and using a napkin said, "Sometimes. But I was only there for a little over a year. Why?"

"Just wondering. I was thinking about it after you said that whole _we're still outsiders _thing. But if you were only there a year then it must have been easy for you to follow Kurt over."

Blaine frowned, "Do you think I followed Kurt to McKinley?"

"Dude, you kinda did."

Blaine's frown deepened, "Dave. It's true that I transferred because of Kurt. But I didn't transfer for Kurt."

Dave looked at Blaine more than a little confused, "Is there a difference?"

"Yeah." Blaine said his eyebrows shooting up, "A big one. I didn't change schools because I wanted to keep hanging out with my boyfriend. I mean, come on, I'm sixteen. So is he. That would be crazy. And insanely codependent."

Dave sat back looking at Blaine carefully, "Then why did you move schools?"

Blaine let out a deep breath, "Watching Kurt go back to McKinley. Knowing about all the stuff he'd gone through there. All the bullying." Blaine saw Dave flinch at the word, "He handled the whole situation with such bravery and...grace. I let bullies chase me away from my school. And it was something I always regretted. After I met Kurt my life began to change... I knew that this could be my second chance. Kind of. If I wanted it to be. Knowing that someone like Kurt would be there with me…that helped give me the strength to try again. That's what I meant by I didn't transfer _for_ Kurt but I did transfer _because of_ Kurt. "

Dave nodded slowly, thinking about Blaine and what he must have gone through. Then he started thinking about Kurt. About the person Kurt was, "He's kinda awesome."

Blaine smiled, understanding where Dave's mind had gone, "Yeah, I'm pretty crazy about him." When he saw Dave drop his eyes rip at his napkin Blaine winced inwardly. He hadn't meant for that to come out as romantic. He'd actually been very careful to not act as boyfriendy toward Kurt this entire week. It was partially an experiment and partially it was him trying to save his own heart. He was wrestling with a few ideas in his head that he wanted to be sure on before he acted. And if he kissed and touched Kurt that would only make things more difficult…for everyone.

Dave coughed trying to lighten the suddenly serious mood, "Well, I'm happy you transferred Eyebrows."

Blaine grinned, "Thanks. So am I." Blaine's grin widened a bit, because he realized as he spoke that he really meant those words. He was so, so happy that he'd transferred, and no matter how things ended up over the next few weeks he would never regret his choice. "Oh! Hey, I remembered I got you this."

Blaine pulled out an ID card and slid it over to Dave. Dave looked at it for a second before saying, "Dude! You didn't? You got the IDs?"

"Yup."

"You rock! But why does it say that I'm 19 on it?"

"Cuz, 21 would have been more expensive and we only have to be 18 to get in the club. I gave Kurt his ID yesterday."

"Are we really going to go clubbing?" Dave had locked onto that one word.

"I told you last weekend. I really, really wanna go dancing."

Dave swallowed thickly around a sudden lump of nerves. True, they had discussed going to a club on their first night but he had been hoping that the idea would blow over. "Have you figured out the curfew problem?"

"Puck and Finn said they would cover for us."

"Why don't they want to come?"

"Because I was hoping you, me and Kurt could go to a gay club." When Blaine saw Dave's eyes go wide he said quickly, "That was the whole point. I did some research and found one that looks really cool. I mean, come on, how often would we get to have this chance? Just to see what it's like."

Dave's face flushed in embarrassment as he thought about going to an actual gay dance club. "Dude, I don't dance."

"What a load of bull. I stand next to you during rehearsals I know you can dance."

"Choreographed steps on a stage are different. I have trouble with the grinding, sexy dancing thing. I wouldn't even know what I was doing."

"You danced at Prom."

"Uh, that was with Santana. And did you see us? Come on man."

"You don't want to go?" Blaine tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice but failed. He didn't want Dave to feel pressured but he knew it wouldn't work if all three of them didn't go.

Blaine's face fell and Dave cursed under his breath. "I didn't say that. Oh, man."

Blaine ruthlessly followed up the crack he saw in Dave's resolve."Come on." Blaine's voice took on a little weaseling edge as he bounced slightly in his chair, "I promise it'll be fun. Let's just cut loose for a night and see what it's like to be us without worrying about the homophobes back home."

Well, if Blaine was going to put it that way..."Okay, okay, I'm in."

Blaine did a small fist pump, "Yes. Awesome. You won't regret it I promise."

_Yeah, right. I won't hold my breath. _

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

After lights out the three boys had sneaked out of the room they were sharing with Finn and Puck. The sleeping arrangements were two on each bed and then one on the fold away couch in each room. Finn and Puck had fluffed up pillows and blankets to look like all the spaces were occupied just in case.

Blaine had the address and offered to pay for the cab ride there. Both Kurt and Blaine seemed excited. They had fussed over him and his dress choices making him change twice. Dave didn't understand why he couldn't just wear a t-shirt and jeans. He didn't want to be a wet blanket but he still wasn't 100% comfortable with the whole plan. He had almost talked himself out of going back in the hotel room. Until he'd heard Finn talking to Kurt…

_"Dude, I don't know if this is such a good idea. What if something happens?"_

_ "Oh stop fussing Finn. It's not like it's just me and Blaine. We'll also have Dave with us. And he's plenty scary looking when he wants to be. Not to mention three is safer than two. We're just going to go, dance for a few hours then come back."_

That had sold him. He would never be able to forgive himself if he chickened out and then something happened to Kurt or Blaine. He folded his arms tightly around his chest, watching the lights dart by from the cab window. He didn't have to dance anyway. He could just sit and watch. There was no rule saying he had to go anywhere near that dance floor.

Dave could feel the music in his molars, the continuous beat of the bass making his body hum. He'd found a seat on a not-too uncomfortable couch and parked himself. He was poking at the black X on his hand that showed he couldn't drink yet. Looking up he caught a glimpse of Kurt and Blaine on the dance floor. It looked like they were having a really good time dancing. He wanted to get up so bad but it was as if his legs were glued to the damn floor. He looked down at his traitorous feet grumbling to himself.

Someone plopped down on the couch next to Dave pulling him out of his thoughts. Dave turned to look at the person now sitting next to him. It was a blonde boy. _A pretty good looking blonde._ Dave flushed red and just hoped that the club was dark enough to hide it.

The boy looked over at Dave and spoke, "Cool place, right?"

Dave nodded his head slowly, "Yeah. It's pretty cool."

The blonde smiled at him, "First time?"

Dave gave a nod, "Is it that obvious?"

The blonde boy laughed and extended a hand, "I'm Tyler."

Dave looked at the hand for a moment before reaching out and taking it, "Dave."

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

Kurt never would have thought that he would be having as great a time as he was. He had never figured himself for a club type person. But this, the people, the music, the dancing, this he enjoyed. Just being able to dance next to Blaine and not have anyone think twice about it. It was intoxicating. A heady rush that he let himself get swept away in. When he felt Blaine press up against his back Kurt smiled, this was the first time Blaine had touched him even remotely intimately in over the last week. He turned to face the curly haired boy. Blaine smiled at him, that wonderful broad smile that you just had to return. Blaine leaned into Kurt and Kurt eyes went wide..._Was Blaine going to kiss him?_

But Blaine's head moved to the side as he spoke into Kurt's ear, "Don't look now but I think Dave's getting hit on."

Kurt followed Blaine's eyes back over to where Dave was sitting. The bigger boy was still in the same seat that they'd left him in but now he was talking to a skinny blonde boy. Apparently skinny blonde had said something funny because both of them were laughing. "Do you think we should go save him?"

Blaine gave him a strange look, "Save him from what? Having a good time?"

Kurt knew Blaine was probably right. What right did Kurt have to fly in and break up whatever it was that was going on over there? Dave actually looked like he was finally enjoying himself and Kurt's first instinct had been to stop it. He was abashed but that impulse to go over and see just who it was talking to Dave wouldn't go away. _Skinny could be a serial killer! Or a sexual predator! He could be slipping something into Dave's drink right now! _

Kurt couldn't let it go. He danced for a little longer but kept his eyes toward Dave and his new friend. _Who had the personal style of a frat boy by the way. Maybe that's Dave's type though..._ Leaning over to Blaine he said, "I need a drink." And walked quickly off the dance floor. He got himself a water and after a few false starts finally sauntered up to where Dave and Skinny were chatting animatedly together. "Who's your friend David?"

Dave looked up at Kurt and his smile widened, if that was possible, "Kurt! This is Tyler. Tyler, this is Kurt. He's he one I was talking about."

Skinny aka Tyler smiled at Kurt and waved, since would have had to extend a hand over Dave to shake Kurt's. Kurt gave Tyler what he hoped was a warm smile back. "Nice to meet you Tyler."

Tyler nodded again, "Nice to meet you too. Dave says a lot of awesome things about you."

Kurt blushed a little. "I'm sure he was just being nice."

"You wanna sit down Kurt? You look hot." Dave said scooting over...closer to Tyler Kurt noticed.

Kurt shook his head, "No, no. Stay where you are. I just needed to come up for some water and a breather. I'm going to dive back in soon. Can't leave Blaine out there all by himself."

The three looked at each for a few beats before Dave spoke again, "Tyler goes to NYU. He's an artist."

Kurt fought the urge to roll his eyes and say "_Oh how cliche."_ Instead he just gave a nod and a polite smile. "Wow. That's really awesome."

"Dave says your an amazing singer."

Kurt looked down at Dave who was busy studying in feet for some reason. So he gave the back of Dave's head the proud smile he had meant for him to see. He looked back up at Tyler, "I really want to apply for NYU. I would love to go into the Theatre program."

Tyler nodded, "You totally should. It's a great school."

They spoke for a few more minutes then Kurt finished his water and excused himself, "Sorry for interrupting. I'm headed back out."

Dave looked at his cell phone, "Kurt. We need to start heading back soon."

Kurt took out his own phone and grimaced when he saw what time it was. "You're right. I gotta go find Blaine. It was nice to meet you."

Tyler nodded, "You too."

Kurt moved back to the dance floor and turned just in time to see Tyler unmistakably giving Dave his number. Kurt spun quickly on his foot and found Blaine as quickly as possible.

**Saturday**

They were only a little worse for wear when they came down to the hotel lobby in the morning. Their plan had apparently gone off without a hitch though, Mr. Shue seemed to be blessedly oblivious to the fact that Kurt, Blaine and Dave had dragged their bodies in the door around two am.

The Glee Club was sitting in the Nationals venue, waiting there turn to go in and use the facilities. Kurt spied a cafe attached to the place, "Thank St. McQueen and all his collections. Coffee! Who's with me?"

Most of the Glee club had wanted to go but Mr. Shue broke them up into groups. Which was how Kurt ended up in the second group with Brittany and Tina. As they waited in line they watched people through the glass. Dave stood up and helped Finn to his feet, the two of them sharing a short bro hug afterward.

"Why doesn't Dave ever hug you?" Brittany said next to Kurt.

"What?" Kurt asked.

"Dave hugs Santana." There she had a wistful pause before continuing, "He also hugs Finn and Blaine. But he doesn't hug you."

Tina thought about it for a minute, "She's right. I had never noticed."

"Don't you like hugs Kurt?" Brittany asked, her face worried. "Babies die if you don't hug them. I don't want you to die Kurt!"

Kurt pursed his lips together in exasperation, "Of course I like hugs. And I'm not going to die."

"They why don't you and Dave ever hug? I thought you were friends?"

"We are friends." Kurt thought about it for a moment. Trying to put his finger on the reason why they had never hugged. Kurt had almost always waited for Dave to initiate contact with him. He'd never wanted to feel like he was pushing the bigger boy. But that had been before he'd come out. Why hadn't he given Dave a hug in the mall the other week? Kurt's head kept running around and around with the thought for the rest of the morning.

After mike checks and a quick dress rehearsal Mr. Shue had taken the Glee club to spend the rest of the afternoon together in central park. It was a gorgeous day. The sky was a brilliant blue with just a few white puffy clouds moving lazily across it. Kurt saw Dave leaning against the rail of a little bridge. He was looking down into the water more relaxed than Kurt could ever remember seeing him.

Kurt walked slowly up to Dave and, feeling a little bad for breaking his moment of reflection and calm whispered his name "Dave?"

Dave had been wandering around for most of the day in a haze. Not from the lack of sleep, although that hadn't helped any. He was thinking about the fact that he'd gotten someone's (a boy's) phone number his first time to ever go out. It had made him feel good at the time and it still made him feel good now when he thought about it. But he had to be honest, he would never call Tyler. Not just because he was still a high school student that lived in Lima Ohio either. Maybe he just wasn't ready for the idea of dating another guy yet? Maybe that was why he couldn't imagine going on a date with someone like Tyler. Suddenly all Dave could think about was sitting in a dark movie theater, the smell of stale popcorn wrapped around him in the dark and the feel of Kurt's hand in his. _Not helpful brain. _Dave looked down at the water. Trying to think of something else. But then Kurt was back, but this time it was real. He glanced over at Kurt. Who was standing there, in one of those outfits that Dave always wondered how he had even managed to get into, looking at him with those bright eyes of his. "What's up?"

Kurt moved in closer to Dave. Standing beside the bigger boy then propping his elbows on the bridge so he could look out over the water as well. He wasn't even sure what he had originally wanted to say. Couldn't remember any of the words. So he improvised, "You nervous about tomorrow?"

Dave sighed "Yeah. A bit. I dunno. I think I'll be more nervous tomorrow. But at least it will be over soon."

The way Dave said that last sentence made Kurt's back stiffen. It would be over for Dave after tomorrow. Summer vacation was starting and Dave wouldn't have to be in Glee club any longer. The thought made Kurt feel like someone had just dropped a rock down into his stomach. "Are you not going to be in Glee anymore after this?"

Dave turned his head towards Kurt, but Kurt was resolutely starring out across the water. Dave chuckled, "You know what Fancy? I hadn't even thought about being able to leave."

It was Kurt's turn to tilt his head so he could see Dave better. The bigger boy was rest ing his chin on his fists, "You haven't?"

Dave straightened up, standing directly in front of him, looking at Kurt. "Nope. I kinda like being in Glee club. And since I know I can do both football and glee I don't see why I'd need to leave now. No matter which way it goes tomorrow, I'm gonna be in Glee next year."

Kurt smiled. A big, full smile. Straightening up he braced himself and wrapped his arms around Dave.

Dave went stalk still at the contact, unsure what to do. Kurt had plowed straight into him the slender boys head resting on his chest. He could feel Kurt's arms wrapped around his body holding himself to Dave. It was only the briefest of moments before Dave relaxed and brought his arms around Kurt. Wrapping them around the boy's shoulders and holding him.

Dave didn't want to ruin the moment but he had to say it, "This is the first time you've ever hugged me."

Kurt's grip tightened as he tried to get even closer as he whispered, "I know. I'm sorry."

Dave put his chin down to rest it on Kurt's head, "It's cool Fancy."


	15. Lovesong

_I'm sorry this one is really short! I haven't actually watched all the finale yet and I debated waiting until I finished the season but I really wanted this to be just a brief little scene before Chapter 16... Lots of love to my ever-faithful reviewers. And big big hugs to everyone that has added this story to their alerts. Enjoy!_

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**Chapter 15- Lovesong **

_~You make me feel like I am home again...you make me feel like I am whole again...you make me feel like I am free again...you make me feel like I am clean again.~_

**Sunday evening (****right ****after Nationals)**

"Waffletoots? Seriously?" Dave said, banging the room door open. He knew he was just looking for things to be angry now, but thankfully the brain trusts that named glee clubs gave him ample ammo. _They give out trophies for stupidest names or something? Fuck! _Dave pulled off his tie and threw it at his suitcase. "That was such utter CRAP!" He knew they had totally killed it today. "What the fuck would a kiss fucking matter? I thought all this shit was supposed to be about the damn singing?" He hadn't thought he'd be this pissed off about a singing competition, but it had been a stress full night so far.

Kurt and Blaine had followed Dave into their room. Puck and Finn were still knee deep in the insanity that was going down with the rest of the group. Kurt had, had to physically pull Dave out of the room once Santana had completely lost her temper, trying to diffuse the situation before it hit critical mass. It was never good when the Latina went into Spanish melt-down mode.

Half way out of the room Dave had been so angry he had been shaking, he'd actually planted his feet, stopping Kurt pulling him. Kurt had shot a desperate look at Blaine who had helped drag Dave out of the room. Kurt had been trying to talk to Dave in a soothing undertone as they made their exit, _"Santana's fine. They've got her. You need to take a breather Fury. It's just a competition. She's just venting." _Once they got out of the room Dave had glared at both the boys. But when they had stood firm in front of the door, blocking his way back in he'd finally spun on his heel and stomped towards their room. The others could hold Santana back and he knew that Brittany would calm her down after. He also knew that Kurt was right. He wouldn't have been much help. But Dave had yelled the entire way down the hallway anyway. It made him feel better…well a little better.

"It _is _supposed to be about singing. And singing is passionate." Kurt said in a calm voice as he moved farther into the room behind Dave. Kurt had actually thought, while maybe ill timed, the kiss had been insanely romantic. Like something out of a movie. And he, of course, wanted to see Finn and Rachel happy. He loved Finn and Rachel, they were special to him.

"While I do understand passion I think the kiss was unprofessional." Blaine chirped once he was inside the room. He slowly unbuttoned his vest and folded it carefully. Blaine had been speaking more to the room than to either Kurt or Dave though. He just wanted to say what was on his mind out loud once. In that crowded room he'd been a bit too uncomfortable to weigh in on the results. Again, conflict...not really his thing. He'd wanted to stand up for Rachel but one look from Santana had sent him running for cover. And really, the shenanigans that had just gone down in that room were insane. Blaine would rather deal with a pissed off Dave Karofsky any day of the week.

Kurt sat down on the bed, watching Dave stomp around the room. He put a hand on his chin and waited for Dave to end the temper-tantrum he was throwing. Kurt knew that if Dave could read his thought right now he would only get more angry. Because for all his yelling and throwing Kurt thought it was funny. ..._ And just a little endearing. _Kurt could tell that Dave really wasn't angry anymore, the crack about the Waffletoots had given it away. He hadn't really had time to process his own feelings in the craziness that had come after they had gotten back to the hotel. But now that it was just the three of them Kurt felt lighter and actually...he was really happy. Kurt smiled to himself.

After Blaine had taken off his tie he'd come over to the bed and sat down next to Kurt. Blaine watched Dave for a minute then looked over at Kurt's passive but smiling face. He nudged Kurt with his shoulder, "I don't get it? You don't seem that sad at all."

Dave stopped and turned to look at Kurt. The smaller boy really didn't look upset whatsoever. In fact he looked downright pleased. Dave had been sure that Kurt would be a raging ball of bitchiness at the fact that they hadn't even placed. But Kurt just toed off his shoes and scooted up on the bed until he was sitting up against the head board. Hands folded gently on his lap. Dave watched Blaine scoot up to sit on Kurt's other side.

Dave sighed and let himself relax a little. Taking a few deep breaths and counting under his breath. If they were calm he could be calm too. He just hated losing. He also hated it when Santana got upset. He promised himself that he'd maybe take her shooting or something when they got back to Lima. _Although, teaching her to wield a gun might not be the best idea...Maybe he'd just take her to a movie with lots of shooting in it...Yeah, that was a better idea._

Dave was about to sit down on the opposite bed when he heard Kurt cough and ask in an amused tone, "What do you think you're doing?"

Dave gave him a look, "Knitting a sweater. What does it look like I'm doing?"

Kurt returned the look, "Don't be stupid, come here." He scooted over towards Blaine and patted the space he'd just made, indicating where Dave should be sitting.

Dave shot a quick look at Blaine who just smiled at him. Dave let out a heavy sigh and sat down awkwardly on the other side of Kurt.

Once Dave had sat down Kurt felt so…content. It was like slipping into a warm bubble bath. That strange feeling he'd gotten in the mall last week had been something like this... as well as when Dave had hugged him after their performance. In front of a crowd like that Dave had hugged him. Okay, maybe he shouldn't be reading into it so much, everyone had been hugging everyone. Kurt had been trying to turn over a new leaf and not over analyze everything that Dave did. He had been meeting with only moderate success though..._Sometimes a hug is just a hug__  
_

The three of them moved a bit, getting comfortable, before Blaine asked Kurt again, "So, why aren't you upset?"

Kurt closed his eyes and thought about it. _Why am I not upset? _At first when he'd seen the list he'd gone numb. Kurt couldn't believe they hadn't made the top ten, since he'd been so sure they had. But the numbness had faded pretty quickly once they left. But what exactly was the reason why he wasn't more upset about not placing? When he'd sorted through his thoughts he said, "Well, it's still been amazing. I mean, flew in an airplane for the first time in my life..."

Dave made a noise, "That was your first time in a plane? God, now I feel like an even bigger pussy for freaking out."

Kurt smiled lazily and elbowed him a little, "Don't interrupt." Kurt started where he left off, his tone taking on a dreamy quality, "I had…well, brunch at Tiffany's. But that's close enough. I got to sing on a Broadway stage. And I went to my first gay club ever and had a wonderful time." Kurt paused, "You know when you stop and think about it, Kurt Hummel has had a pretty good year."

Blaine made a quiet _mmmhmmm_ noise, nodding his head. "I loved every minute of it too." Blaine had to agree the year had been pretty awesome. Crazy and life-changing but overall it had been good.

Dave closed his eyes listening to Kurt, thinking about the year. Kurt had a good year? Kurt **had been** Dave's year. The entire thing. From the worst moments to the best. He wanted to tell Kurt that but couldn't find the right words. They would probably just sound silly coming out of his mouth anyway. Kurt had no idea how happy that one sentence had made him. So all he ended up saying was, "Yeah, I know how you feel."

"And there's always next year." Blaine added optimistically.

They had all agreed with that. They fell into a calm silence, just sitting next to each other on the hotel bed relaxing and thinking. Kurt hadn't realized how tired he really was. But lying back, warm bodies on either side of him he felt himself sliding into sleep…

After a couple of minutes Blaine craned his head so he could see both Kurt and Dave better. They both had their eyes closed. They looked so…relaxed, so happy. Blaine could see Kurt's head slumping slowly towards Dave; his breathing had become lower and more rhythmic. Dave's eyes were still closed but Blaine couldn't tell if the bigger boy was asleep or not.

Blaine got off the bed slowly, trying not to make too much noise. He wanted to take a shower. Well, he wanted to get in the shower so he could think.

Dave whispered, "I think he fell asleep."

Blaine turned around and saw Dave's eyes were open and he was looking at Blaine. Blaine just nodded. Kurt's head was now on Dave's shoulder and the bigger boy gave Blaine a questioning look. "Should I wake him up?"

Blaine looked at Kurt again. "Naw. Let him sleep. It's been a crazy couple of days."

"You sure?" Dave asked, still whispering.

Blaine looked at Dave, really looked at him. Blaine knew that Dave was asking him about the contact. The bigger boy was worrying about him. It was funny how vulnerable Dave had let himself become. Once he lost the bravado and all the self-hate. _"Well, he's not coming out anytime soon…"_ Blaine thought about those words he'd said earlier this year. He'd been so sure of those words when he'd spoken them. He'd come across people like that before, the people so full of hate for themselves that they hurt others. He'd been on the receiving end of it. But that had been before he'd gotten to know Dave. Hell, that had been before he'd gotten to know Kurt. Blaine was 100% positive that Dave was sitting on that hotel bed, his eyes full of so much vulnerability and genuine worry for another person because of Kurt. Blaine smiled softly. "Don't worry about it. He looks happy where he is. I'm going to go take a shower."

Blaine turned on the shower and locked the bathroom door. Once the water was the temperature he wanted he turned off the light. Carefully picking his way back to the shower he got in and sat down so he could feel the water beating down on his head. Blaine loved dark showers; it was one of his favorite places to think. And he had a lot to think about...well he had one thing to think a lot about.

He'd been figuring out his plan since that day in the mall. But seeing the hug after they had performed had settled what he was going to do in his mind. He was going to wait until school was out for the summer though. Mostly because he needed the freedom of summer to do what he was going to do. He felt like a total tool. He hadn't even done anything yet and the guilt about what he was going to do was already eating at his insides. He wondered if he was going to get an ulcer or something. It felt like it. Maybe there was another way to make everything work out? Blaine shook his head, nope, not considering the type of people Dave and Kurt were. Hell, it was possible this half-baked plan of his wouldn't work either. A lot of his plans didn't pan out really. Maybe he would just be messing everything up for nothing? Blaine put his face in his hands. He really hoped that he was doing the right thing.

He got out of the shower and put on his sleep clothes. When he stepped into the room he looked at the bed and couldn't help but smile. His deep and troublesome thoughts falling away. Kurt was still asleep with his head on Dave's shoulder. But now Dave was asleep too (from the light snores Blaine could faintly hear) his head resting on top of Kurt's. Blaine went over to his stuff and grabbed his phone. He snapped a picture and cursed under his breath at how loud the sound had been.

Dave jerked awake saying groggily, "I'll kick his ass!"

Blaine grinned at that. Everyone in their room had discovered the fact that Dave always seemed to say off the wall stuff when he first woke up. It was kind of like jazz-music, random thoughts thrown together in odd patterns.

At Dave's sudden movement Kurt had woken up too, he rubbed at his eyes tiredly, "What time is it?"

The two boys looked sleepily up at Blaine, who had hidden his phone behind his back. "Not way too late. Showers free."

Dave raised an eyebrow at the curly haired boy, "Dude, did you take a picture?"

Blaine gave Dave an innocent look and then a shrug, "What? Can you blame me? You two looked so cute."

"Perv." Dave said getting up. But it wasn't really an insult.

"Blaine Anderson! You delete that right now!" Kurt said, rolling to the side of the bed and standing up. He wasn't really upset about the picture either but it would have been out of character to just let something like that go. He loved the idea of paparazzi following him around. And Blaine's itchy trigger-finger had been good practice for him on this trip.

Blaine shrugged again, "Sorry can't. Already posted and tagged on twitter."

"Goddamn it." Dave muttered. "Just tell me I'm not drooling in it."

"Would I post a picture of either of you looking less than your best?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow, "I seriously hope you did not insinuate that I look my best passed out."

Dave laughed and shook his head. Blaine had become a bit of a photo nut here in NYC. And Dave had spent their first day dealing with a manic shutter-bug Blaine. So he was pretty used to it by now. And really, Dave was actually looking forward to seeing how the pictures had come out. He knew there should be one of Santana about to take a bite of food that he really wanted to see. He moved to his bag but turned back around a second later. "Yo, Kurt, you want to do all that skin stuff you do before I jump in the shower?"

Kurt was still groggy but nodded and grabbing his pajamas and his toiletry bag made his way to the bathroom. Grateful that Dave was letting him go first. Right now he just wanted to crawl into bed and fall back asleep. They'd be going back to Lima, Ohio tomorrow and that thought was extremely depressing. _Well, at least summer was almost here._

**Monday**

The plane ride home had been completely silent. No one had said a word. They all sat there with their faces buried in their complimentary copies of _Skymall_. Well, except for Dave. Kurt had reminded Dave to take one of his pills before getting on the plane and so Dave had spent the entire flight passed out cold. Kurt had envied him a bit for that. Kurt had glanced at Blaine during the flight but the curly haired boy had seemed so lost in thought that Kurt had decided not to interrupt. Kurt wondered what Blaine was thinking so hard about though...

Dave had woken up but had still been woozy when they landed. But his parents were waiting at the airport to drive him home. Most of the parents had turned up, including Blaine's mom. She was a very pretty woman and was even shorter than her son but that didn't stop her from wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him until he couldn't laugh anymore. Kurt caught himself wondering, not for the first time, how a woman like that had ended up married to a man like Blaine's dad. _No accounting for taste..._

There had been a few introductions and the parents had talked for a bit while the Glee club stood around in a circle awkwardly. After Mr. Shue had talked for a bit they had stood there for a good long while, everyone starring at the floor. No one knew who had moved first but suddenly they were hugging each other. Still without speaking. But at least they were hugging. That was an improvement. Except Santana and Rachel. Santana had just held onto Dave and glared at Berry. "I'm making a voodoo doll of that bitch when I get home." She'd whispered in Dave's ear. Dave had laughed a little too loudly at the joke. _Stupid drugs._

The group broke up heading home with the people that had come to get them. They all knew that they had to be back at school tomorrow. But then came the summer. Something every single one of them was looking forward to.


	16. First Love

_Right, so, this chapter was insanely difficult to write. __ But it had to happen, even though it hurt to do it. _I spent a long time trying to get the right feeling and I'm still not 100% happy with the outcome. Chapter 17 should be up as soon as I can finish it. And in case anyone is worried Chapter 18 is going to be between Dave and Blaine. And we'll see A LOT more of Blaine's thought process on what he thinks he's doing then. Thank you to everyone that has stuck with me and this story. Thank you for the suggestions, the reviews and all the encouragement! Enjoy.  


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**Chapter 16 – First Love**

_~So little to say but so much time, despite my empty mouth the words are in my mind._ _Please wear the face, the one where you smile, because you lighten up my heart when I start to cry.~_

**Tuesday (early June)**

Burt and Carol had made it very clear since the start of summer break last week that family dinner was going to be making a big come back. Carol had gotten her shifts changed again which meant that family dinner would be falling on Tuesday nights for the foreseeable future.

Which was why the Hummel-Hudson's were half-way through dinner when the doorbell rang. Carol was up and moving toward the door waving a hand dismissively at Burt's grumbling. "I'll just tell them to go away. I won't be gone for more than two minutes."

Kurt was watching Finn as he shoved a mass of green around his plate.

"What is this stuff?" Finn finally asked. "It's not lettuce."

Kurt glanced over and realized that his dad had the same questioning look. He let out a sigh, "It's arugula. And it's good for you. I promise." Burt took another bite but Finn just eyed the green leaves with suspicion. _Honestly. How could he not know what arugula is? _Then again, Finn had thought that tomatoes were vegetables until Kurt had told him otherwise. Finn hadn't believed they were a fruit until they looked it up on wikipeadia together. "If it's good enough for the President then it's good enough for you Finn."

Finn made a face as he brought a fork full to his mouth.

Carol's surprised voice pulled Kurt away from watching Finn suffer, "Kurt, it's Blaine!"

Kurt's head turned in surprise. He hadn't spoken to Blaine all day. Or yesterday. Blaine had been very distracted lately and Kurt hadn't pushed. He knew that Blaine would talk to him about it as soon as he was ready. He always did. He looked at his dad who raised his eyebrows, but Kurt only shook his head, "I didn't know he was coming over tonight." Burt wasn't so keen on other people intruding on family dinner time. But there were a few exceptions to the rule, as long as prior notice was given.

They could hear Carol's voice as it floated lightly into the dining room, "Blaine honey, why didn't you tell us you were coming over tonight? I would have put out an extra plate."

Kurt heard Blaine's voice answer, "I'm sorry. I wasn't sure I was coming over tonight... But I actually need to talk to Kurt for a minute. If that's okay?"

Kurt was on his feet as soon as he heard the tone. There was something off in Blaine's voice. Kurt couldn't figure it out but it disturbed him.

Kurt came around the corner just as Carol was asking if everything was alright.

Blaine caught sight of Kurt as he came around the corner. He fought an overwhelming urge to turn around and bolt. He'd been sitting in his car for the better part of twenty minutes before he'd forced himself to walk up to the door and ring the bell. _Oh God, this was such a bad idea. I should have called first. _"Sure." Blaine said, "Everything's fine."

_A total lie. _Kurt shot Blaine a look that said he saw right through those feeble words._  
_

Carol didn't look convinced either but when she saw Kurt she touched his shoulder and went back into the dining room. Kurt looked at his boyfriend for a moment before he said, "What's wrong? Why didn't you call and give me a heads up?"

Blaine shifted uncomfortably in front of the front door. Like he didn't want to come into the house further, "Can you come for a walk with me?"

Kurt raised his eyebrows, "What? Now? Blaine, it's the middle of dinner."

Blaine looked up at Kurt, "Please, it's important."

One look into Blaine's eyes and Kurt called over his shoulder, "Dad! I'll be right back."

Burt's voice answered from the other room, "Everything alright?"

Kurt looked at Blaine again before he said, "I don't know." Blaine's eyes dropped to the ground.

Burt's voice was more concerned than anything but the edge of irritation was still there, "Let me know when you boys get back."

"I will."

Kurt nodded and Blaine headed out the front door.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Blaine walked forward, hands in his pants pockets and his head watching the plodding of his feet. He knew he should probably say something. After all he'd come all the way out here to talk to the boy next to him. He hadn't talked to Kurt in two days, which was a long time for them. But Blaine had needed that time to focus himself. He thought about putting this off again. About making up a story about why he was out here now. _School's only been out a week. Maybe I should have waited longer…_ But as of yesterday he'd locked himself into a time-line. This was it. And this was supposed to be the right thing. _So why can't I talk?_ He was doing the right thing. He knew he was doing the right thing. He hoped he was doing the right thing.

Kurt couldn't handle the silence anymore. He just couldn't take the constant footfalls and the ambient noises of his street. "Okay, stop." Kurt stopped moving and Blaine stopped as well, "I call time out on this whole thing. We've been walking around my block for the last ten minutes and you haven't said a thing." He took Blaine's hand, "What is wrong?"

Blaine looked down at the hand in his and took a deep breath. He probably would have just kept walking until he was too tired to move anymore. He knew what he should say. What he needed to say but being here, standing next to Kurt, he forgot it all. _Crap!_ He turned to face the other boy fully and suddenly he found himself speaking, "Everything I'm about to tell you comes from a place of friendship, alright?"

Kurt's felt the blood rush out of his face and he dropped Blaine's hand. "Oh my God! That's a horrible beginning. Just tell me what's going on?"

Blaine blew out a breath, "I'm going to California. My mom's sister invited me to stay." _There. Good. That's the start. _Now he just had to keep going. Keep the momentum because he might not be able to finish this if he didn't keep it up.

Kurt's mouth quivered slightly, "For, like, ever?"

Blaine looked blankly at him for a minute before rushing to fill the gap, "What? Oh no! Just for the summer."

Kurt's relieved sigh moved his entire body, "Oh thank God. You scared me. When will you be back?"

Blaine coughed lightly, "The week before school starts."

Kurt's brow knitted together, "And when do you leave?"

Blaine flushed with shame and said under his breath, "Three days."

That made Kurt pause for a moment, "So, you really meant that you'll be gone for the whole summer."

"Yeah, she's got some connections and said she'd take me to some auditions and stuff." Blaine knew he was babbling a bit at this point. Trying too hard to sound light and happy.

"Sounds amazing." Kurt was frowning at the curly haired boy. Something was still very off about this whole thing.

Blaine forced out a laugh that sounded to him as fake as he knew it was, "Beats working at six flags. Yeah, she's cool. She lives in L.A."

Kurt flinched at the laugh. He wanted to ask the shorter boy what was wrong but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He had this sick feeling in his stomach that he was trying to shove away. Instead he said, "Well then, I'll try not to be too jealous." Kurt began to walk again. They weren't too far from the house and Kurt suddenly really wanted to be on his lawn. He inexplicably needed to be at his house. When they got there Kurt sat down on the driveway. He waited until Blaine sat down next to him. Finally Kurt spoke, "So, did you break up family dinner just to tell me you weren't going to be around this summer? Because if that's the case I'm going to have to count to ten to give you a head start when my dad comes out here to kill you. We have such things as cell phones and the internet you know. I mean, it'll be sad not getting to see you. But it's not like we aren't going to be able to talk."

Blaine swallowed audibly. He wished that everything Kurt had just said could still happen. But he knew that it probably wouldn't. He dropped his head and clamped his eyes shut. "No. Look, Kurt…"

Kurt looked over at Blaine. The shorter boy had his head buried in his hands, fingers twisted into his gel free hair. Blaine looked up and there was something in those brown eyes that made Kurt's heart lurch, and not in a good way. Kurt fumbled to name what was filling Blaine's eyes. Underneath all the pain there was something else; _Regret._ Blaine's eyes were pleading an apology to him. And Kurt's entire world seemed to shrink, "Why do I feel like you're about to break up with me?"

Blaine's eyes dropped from Kurt's. _Oh God, this is it. _"It's not you Kurt! It's me…I'm~" but he faltered when he looked at Kurt's face.

Kurt looked utterly confused, not sure what Blaine had just said. When it finally registered he blurted, "What?" Kurt felt like he'd just been punched in the stomach. And he was very grateful that he was sitting.

Blaine took another deep suck of air and was about to start again.

Kurt flung up a hand stopping Blaine. Kurt could feel the tell-tale prickle of tears but shoved them deep down. He would not cry until he knew what the hell was going on. "I'm going to stop you right there. And give you five minutes to plan out what you are trying to say because I deserve way more than a 'it's not you, it's me' line." Kurt suddenly had a horrible thought, "This isn't a distance thing is it? Like we break up for the summer so you can check out L.A. guys?"

"What? No." Blaine glanced up at Kurt and hated himself for the look in those bright blue/green eyes, "You're my best friend Kurt."

Kurt turned his face away from the other boys and whispered, "But?"

Blaine shook his head, "Not but, and. And I think that maybe we'd be better that way…"

"As friends…"

"Yeah."

"I thought we were friends."

"We are." But Blaine just shook his head sadly, "Which is why I can tell you that I just don't think we're the right fit for each other."

One perfect eyebrow shot up. "Not the right fit?"

"You have to see that too, don't you?"

"No!" Kurt said, "No! I don't see that." Kurt could feel the tears welling up in his eyes again but he jutted out his chin and tried to keep them down. He was NOT going to cry right now. He pinched his arm trying to see if maybe he'd passed out at the kitchen table and was just having a nightmare. But nope, this was real. _What the hell was going on? _A couple of weeks ago they had been talking about moving to New York after high school. _What was going on? _He was so confused and upset that he retreated into anger. It had been a long time since he'd had to do that. But it was just like riding a bike. And if he was pissed off then he wouldn't feel the hurt as much. "So, all that _looking for me forever_ stuff was what? Just a caught in the moment thing? Something to say to appeal to the romantic in me?"

Blaine flinched at Kurt's words and icy tone. He looked at Kurt like the countertenor had just slapped him. "No! I have been looking for someone like you forever…" Blaine had never even considered the possibility of finding a friend like Kurt. Of someone that cared about him for him. Kurt had changed his life. _Kurt had to know that….didn't he?_

Kurt said flatly, "You just don't want to date me anymore."

The lack of emotion in Kurt's voice tore at Blaine. God, he was fucking this up so badly! He should have found another way. But really? How had he expected Kurt to take this? With an understanding smile? Blaine's eyes filled with tears and he scrambled for something to say, "Kurt, I love you."

Kurt's eyes shot up to his (ex?)boyfriend. _He said that now? Why the hell would he say that now? _He tried to hold onto the anger but he couldn't. He was actually having a hard time feeling anything at the moment. With his last effort to remain bitchy he said, "You've got it a little backwards. Normally people don't say that part when they're breaking up." Kurt hated that his voice broke on that last word.

Blaine buried his face in his hands again. _I love you? I love you? That's what I come up with? _He did love Kurt. That was the whole problem. He cared more for the boy next to him than anyone would ever know. All he wanted was to see Kurt at his happiest. And Blaine knew that it wasn't with him. But he couldn't just tell Kurt that. Kurt was too damn stubborn. He had agonized over this for weeks. Watched Kurt, watched everything so closely. This was the only way. He had somehow become Kurt's safety blanket. _And he's become mine._ Theirs was the love that life-long friendships were made of. The type of friends that got houses next to each other and grew old on the same street. The type of friends that held the other after a bad break up and answered their phones at 3am without question. He didn't doubt that Kurt loved him too, but Blaine knew that Kurt wasn't in love with him. Which hadn't killed him to find out, what had killed him more was realizing that he wasn't in love with Kurt either. But he still loved him with everything he had. Kurt's lips were not the first thing he thought about. He loved kissing Kurt, but two weeks ago he discovered that he was just as happy holding the boys hand. "I know. I know that I'm messing this all up. I'm so sorry Kurt."

"Why? What did I do?" Kurt could barely get the words out of his constricting throat. He had lost all pretense at being angry, the numbness was now soaking into his guts, he felt like he'd been carved out, like a jack-o-lantern.

Blaine looked up at him, imploring him to believe everything that he was saying. "You didn't do anything! This isn't anyone's fault. It's just the way things happen sometimes."

"But there has to be a reason why you're doing this now."

Of course there was a reason. A reason that he couldn't tell Kurt. _Because I'm 99.9% sure that you're in love with Dave. _But if he told Kurt that then it would ruin everything. So for the first time in his relationship with Kurt he turned, looked the boy in the face and lied, "Not every relationship has a big finish. Sometimes things just...fade."

"Fade? What does that even mean?"

"I think we should talk about it when I come back."

"In almost three months..." Kurt thought for a moment before he said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Did you really get invited to spend time with your Aunt?"

Blaine close his eyes, "I called her and asked if I could stay with her this summer. I thought it would be easier."

"For who?" Kurt said, pulling his legs up to his chest. He saw Blaine stand up and reach for Kurt's hand. "Don't touch me." Kurt whispered. "I don't think…I don't think I could stand it right now." Blaine dropped his hand.

"Time heals everything." Blaine had to say those words. He hoped they were right. But looking down at Kurt he realized that he'd crossed over some type of line by saying that.

Kurt glared at Blaine with eyes bright with un-shed tears. "You know what Blaine? I always thought you were so brave, so strong. I looked up to you so much. I always have…" Kurt stood up, his knees were weak but he managed not to wobble, "But right now all I can see that is a scared little boy with a pocket full of fortune cookie proverbs."

Blaine took a step back, "Kurt."

Kurt stepped forward into Blaine's space. "You can't even say to my face the reason why you're ripping my heart out. You're just going to leave and what? Hope things blow over? Just bail and hope we can still pick up the pieces when you're ready to be done hiding?" He looked into Blaine's eyes and hissed the last word quietly through his teeth, "Coward."

Blaine took the hit. After all Kurt wasn't totally wrong. He was taking the easy way out in a way. Taking off and just leaving the rest up to luck. But he couldn't stay. He wouldn't be able to not fuck up his resolve. Even now, he just wanted to throw his arms around the other boy and just apologize again and again until Kurt forgot about all of this. But he knew he had to keep going. It was almost done; he'd finally pushed Kurt too far. The first half of his plan was actually working. For the first time. That gave him the strength to keep his hands at his sides and look at Kurt. He spoke in the calm and collected tone he'd learned from his father. _Who knew that emotionally unavailable parents could teach you something useful? _"I'm so sorry I'm hurting you. I can only hope you'll understand one day."

Blaine's calm tone made Kurt blink once before he started yelling. "Oh stop it! Stop it! Just drop the esoteric bullshit! I'm not some doe-eyed innocent! I'm not some random stranger you met at the Gap! This is me! I know you! Why won't you talk to me?"

"I can't."

"Can't? Or won't?" Kurt bit out. He turned away from those cool brown eyes. Blaine had shut him out. Kurt had tried to get Blaine angry, to push him into an actual emotional response. And he thought he had for a moment there. But then those pretty eyes had glassed over and locked him out. They really weren't going to fix this…

"I'm going to go." Blaine whispered.

Kurt starred down at the grass under his feet. "Is this really happening?"

"I think so." He took two steps towards Kurt. Thinking about putting a hand on one slender shoulder. He just wanted one hug, one hug to hold his over... But he thought better of it at the last second. "I'll see you in August Kurt. I hope you'll understand then." Kurt had the most forgiving heart of anyone he'd ever met. And he was hoping that forgiveness would extend to him when he came back.

Kurt wasn't even thinking about what he was saying. The words that came out of his voice were hollow and dead. "Goodbye Blaine."

Blaine had to struggle to keep from falling apart at the finality of those two words. Kurt had said he'd never say goodbye to him. He managed to keep it together and get into his car. Starting the engine and pulling away from the curb. As he turned to drive down the street he looked up. Kurt was standing in the driveway, arms wrapped around himself, but he wasn't crying. Kurt turned slowly around and walked toward the house.

Blaine drove off. He only made it two blocks before he had to pull over, unable to see the road through his tears. Kurt hadn't asked him to not break up with him, hadn't asked him not to go…Blaine knew he'd done the right thing, but it still sucked. _Please, please, forgive me. Please let this work. _He knew he had to drive home, he still needed to pack. But he just put his head against the cool window pane and cried until he couldn't breathe. He'd drive home after.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

When Kurt walked in Carol, Burt and Finn turned to ask him what was wrong. But one look at Kurt's face and the words died on everyone's lips.

"I'm going to my room." Kurt said in a barely audible whisper.

"Dude, Kurt, who died?" Finn asked, standing up but hesitating.

Kurt looked at each of their faces. All the same look of worry and concern. "He broke up with me." His voice cracked on the last word.

Finn dropped back into his seat unceremoniously. Burt's spine went ridged. Carol was the first to recover and was moving almost instantly, "Oh honey." Her arms stretched out.

Kurt wrapped his arms tighter around himself and shook his head. Carol stopped moving and dropped her arms. He hoped she would understand. He just couldn't be hugged right now. He wouldn't be able to deal with it.

Burt looked at his son then down at his plate, obviously struggling with an appropriate reaction. Finally he just said, "We'll save you a plate. When you're ready to eat it'll be here for you."

Kurt gave him a grateful smile, "Thank you." he breathed out and turned up towards his room. He didn't want to hear anyone feel sorry for him right now. He didn't want to talk to anyone... Well, that wasn't entirely true...

As soon as he'd stepped in the front door he'd wanted to call one person, Dave. Dave wouldn't feel sorry for him. Wouldn't pity him. Kurt just wanted to hear the bigger boy's voice. He didn't want to talk about anything. He wanted to listen to Dave complain about his day or bitch about zombies. Then he could tell Dave what had happened and then the football player would get all pissed off and tell Kurt how great he was. _Was that unfair?_ That he wanted reassurance from Dave? _But isn't that what friends are for?_ Kurt decided that he had a good reason to be a little selfish today.

He picked up his phone and dialed. It rang four times before he heard the familiar gruff voice, "This is Dave."

"David."

But Kurt was cut off by the recorded message, "I can't answer my phone right now. So leave a message...or something..."

_Of course. Just my luck. _Kurt hung up without leaving a message. He texted CALL ME to Dave instead. After it was sent he dropped the phone on his night stand and looked around the dark room.

He flopped bonelessly down onto his bed. He had held it together this entire time but as soon as his head touched the pillow he could smell Blaine and he finally let himself cry. He pulled the pillow into his arms and cried until he was too exhausted to do anything else than fall asleep. He didn't change into his pajamas; he didn't do his skin care routine. He just buried his face in his tear stained pillows and passed out. Hoping that he'd wake up and this would all have been a bad dream.

**Wednesday **

Kurt had still been asleep when he felt arms come around him, holding him. _Dave? _No, Dave would never get into bed with him. The arms were way too small anyway. He knew these arms in this position... He'd been here before. _Blaine? _No, not Blaine. Blaine wasn't here. Wouldn't be here. And waking to that knowledge brought the pain back, fresh and intense. His body began to shake with tears again.

He was totally awake now but the arms were still there. And now there was another pair of arms in front of him. Taking his hands as the arms behind him hugged him tighter. He opened his watery eyes. "Hey lady." Santana said as she gave him a small half smile.

The voice from behind him was Mercedes, "Hey boo." She was the one hugging him.

There was a dip at the foot of Kurt's bed and he looked down the length of it to see Rachel sitting on the edge. They looked at each other for a moment. Kurt was sure that at any second she was going to open her mouth and just let out a torrential emotional and over wrought monologue on the evils of men. But in an uncharacteristic move she just reached her arm out and squeezed his leg. "Finn called us."

Kurt nodded once. _Bless that boy and his moments of brilliance. _And then the tears were back. But this time he was being held by three set of arms and he relaxed into them.


	17. Hiding My Heart

_100 Reviews! So much love to all of you guys! And thank you to everyone that reassured me about how the last chapter turned out! Thank you so, so much! A special shout out to TheFirstMrsHummel for being super awesome! Readers and reviewers like you make writing this even more fun and such a joy. Endless hugs to all of you! Enjoy!_

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**Chapter 17– Hiding My Heart**

_~I wish I could lay down beside you, When the day is done, And wake up to your face against the morning sun, But like everything I've ever known, you'll disappear one day, So I'll spend my whole life hiding my heart away~_

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

It had been just after noon when they had woken him up. Kurt had had no idea it was so late. But it was summer and he didn't exactly have anywhere to be and if going through a break up wasn't an excuse to sleep in he didn't know what was. After the initial crying jag he had calmed down enough to remember that he was still wearing his clothes from last night. He'd slept in his clothes! No wonder he felt like hell warmed over. He'd rolled out of bed to change, go to the bathroom and take a shower (not in that order). The girls had completely understood.

He stepped out of the shower twenty minutes later feeling a bit more himself and a little less hobo. As he gently toweled his hair dry in front of the bathroom mirror, he opened a drawer looking for his brush. Kurt's fingers touched something else and pulling it out he looked down at the comb in his hands. _Blaine's comb._ For when he stayed over. Kurt's eyes fell to the sink and the extra toothbrush on the counter next to his sonicare. A pink Dora the Explorer travel one.

_"Dora the Explorer? Really Blaine? Really?"_

_ "What? I like Dora. She's so feisty."_

_ "I wouldn't really know."_

_ "You didn't watch Saturday morning cartoons when you were a kid?"_

_ "I didn't really watch cartoons after my mom passed away."_

_ "You know what we could do Kurt? We could download some and watch them together on Saturday mornings when I'm over." _

It had become a thing, watching Saturday morning cartoons together. _Who am I going to watch cartoons with? _Kurt wasn't sure that was a normal reaction. Your boyfriend breaks up with you and you're sad because you can't watch cartoons with him? Kurt put the comb back and closed the drawer, leaving his hair damp and unbrushed. He'd walked back into his room and crawled straight back into bed. Pulling the sheets up over his head he announced to the room that he just wanted to sleep until school started again.

The girls had managed to get Kurt to sit up in bed with promises of sugar and girl cuddles. Tina and Brittany dropped by about an hour later, bringing pints of cookie dough and peanut butter cup ice cream and many/pedy kits. After his second bowl, a foot massage and letting Tina talk him into allowing her paint his toenails pink Kurt finally started feeling a little better.

No one talked about Blaine. No one said his name. They talked about movies that were coming out, plans for a Glee club BBQ on the 4th of July, and about the new store that had opened in the mall. All the while they buzzed around Kurt like a bunch of worker bees. _Guess that makes me the Queen._ Kurt smiled to himself. He loved the attention but he was relieved when the group in his room had dwindled down to only Santana and Mercedes.

Tina had to get ready for going back to Asian camp with Mike, Brittany had to go home to check and see if her cat was smoking again and Rachel had drifted out of the room to spend some time with Finn. Rachel hadn't said that was what she was doing but everyone knew. Those two were as subtle as an elephant doing Swan Lake.

Kurt let out a deep sigh. "You think she'll be back?"

Santana shook her head, "Not a snowballs chance in hell."

"Oh she'll be back." Mercedes said, "As soon as they hear we ordered pizza."

Kurt smiled and relaxed back into his pillows. As much as he loved what the girls were doing for him it was nice not having so many people around. In the constant sea of conversation and attention he had started to feel like he was drowning.

Now, Santana sat next to Kurt on the bed blowing on her drying nails. Mercedes was buffing Kurt's left thumb to a high shine. _Cuticle care is very important. _All three of them just content to be together. Mercedes stopped when Kurt finally spoke.

"He didn't even tell me why." The two girls looked at him for a time. Kurt gave them both a look and said, "It's okay you know… To ask me about it. I'm not going to break down if you say his name."

Mercedes put the nail buffer down, "He didn't give you a reason?"

Kurt took a deep pull of air. He needed to talk about what was going on in his head. And this was the best time to do it. Mercedes and Santana would listen. Wouldn't judge, wouldn't super impose their own issues onto his pain. He shook his head, "No. I think that's what hurts the most." He sniffled slightly but he wasn't going to cry, he'd cried everything out of himself earlier today. "I mean, he's my best friend... we've always been able to say anything to each other. But he couldn't tell me why…" Kurt trailed off.

"Maybe he was trying not to hurt you." Santana offered.

Kurt looked at her, "Well he did a stellar job."

She nudged him with her knee. "I didn't say he succeeded."

"Fucking A he didn't succeed!" Kurt muttered.

Santana bobbed her head slightly, "I see we're getting into the angry phase of the break up already."

Kurt deflated and shook his head again, "No. I think I might be angry later. Right now I'm still firmly in the eat ice cream and cry stage. Minus the crying. No more crying, it makes my stomach upset."

Mercedes smiled at him, "I can get behind that stage." Kurt felt himself being cuddled into her arms. She had always been an excellent cuddler.

They were quiet again. Letting the silence stretch out between them and fill the room. Kurt liked the quiet. But now that he'd started talking about it he wanted to keep going, "I don't know…when it happened it was such a shock. I went numb. Like someone had suddenly turned out all the lights." He shifted a little in Mercedes arms, "But now… It still hurts but it's not like I thought it would be."

"What do you mean?" Mercedes asked.

"I thought it would be….more. Like I wouldn't survive the heart break."

Santana touched her nails gingerly, checking to make sure they were dry, "You wanted it to hurt more?"

Kurt shrugged, "I don't know. I have this instinct to call Blaine and cry to him about being broken up with. But I can't call him because he was the guy that broke up with me."

He caught Santana's eyes and thought he saw a flash of understanding there. She nodded slowly, "Sucks when they're your best friend too."

Kurt dipped his head in agreement, "I think I'm morning the loss of Blaine's 'friend' part of 'boyfriend' more than the 'boy' parts."

Both girls burst into giggles at that and when Kurt realized how what he'd just said sounded he blushed hotly. "You know what I meant! Honestly, such pervs." But he cracked a small smile as he said it. He waited for the girls to stop giggling manically before he continued, "I mean, I've never been broken up with before…Is this the way it's supposed to feel?"

"Don't look at me." Santana said shrugging, "If you listen to the rumor mill I don't date because I just end up turning 'em gay."

Kurt patted Santana on the shoulder. He'd never thought about what Dave's coming out would've done to her reputation at school. "I feel your pain. Most guys at school wouldn't get changed near me for the same reason."

Mercedes was the next to speak, "I don't know about the breaking up part either yet."

Santana eyed the other girl suspiciously, "Yet?"

Now it was Mercedes turn to blush, "I've never broken up with someone I really love. That's what all I was saying. Truthfully Kurt, I think you should talk to Finn, Rachel or Quinn about this one. They are the reigning champions of earth shaking break ups."

"I don't know if I'm ready to open that can of worms yet." Kurt sighed. "I really just want to know why..."

Kurt saw Santana purse her lips and roll her eyes, "The answer is simple. Men are evil. Even the ones that seem all decent and nice on the surface. Underneath it all is an asshole just waiting to come out."

Kurt felt Mercedes bristle as Santana went on her little tirade. And the Latina's mouth was even closed before the other girl launched in, "You ever think that good guys end up assholes because bitter girls like you teach them that they can only get girls by being assholes?"

Kurt's mouth dropped open in surprise. He turned and saw that Santana's expression mirrored his own.

Kurt tensed as Santana jumped up onto the bed, sure that he was about to end up in the middle of an angry chick fight. But Santana just stood there and pointing at the Diva yelled, "Ah ha! I knew it! You're in loooove!"

"Girl. You're trippin." Mercedes said, flipping her hair. "This isn't about me. We're here for our boy Kurt."

But Kurt took both of the gorgeous curvy girl's hands. He looked right into Mercedes dark brown eyes. She could only hold the look for a moment before turning her eyes away, her skin heating up under his hands. Kurt exclaimed, "Oh my God! Santana's totally right! I should have noticed it sooner! I'm so happy for you! Forgive me for being totally oblivious!"

Mercedes hugged Kurt, "Whatever, you have every right to be distracted today."

"So spill it!"

She gave Kurt a surprised look, "You really want to know?"

"Gossip is great therapy!"

"Alright. Anything for my boo."

Kurt brightened at the thought of juicy relationship gossip. Especially if it would get his thought off of his own troubles. "So, who is it? Do they go to McKinely?"

The red in Mercedes cheeks grew brighter, "Yes, they go to McKinely. But we're keeping it quiet."

Santana raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"You ever notice how relationships go crazy once everyone in Glee knows?" Kurt caught the apologetic look in her eyes and just gave her a soft smile. She hadn't meant to say anything mean. And really, she was kinda right. Kurt wondered what would have happened if Blaine had remained at Dalton instead of transferring to McKinely? Would they still be together? Or would the distance have kept their relationship from developing much past the kissing friend's zone? _So much for hindsight._

"So…" Santana said, staying on target, "They're in Glee?"

Mercedes shut her mouth so hard her teeth clacked together. She clenched her jaw tight.

Kurt shook her hands and pleaded, "Oh come on! We won't tell anyone. Right Santana?" he shot the Latina a look that said it wasn't a question.

Santana nodded. "I'm pretty damn good at keeping secrets...Well the ones that matter anyway."

Mercedes gave the other girl a glare, "Oh yeah? Like what?"

The fiery Latina gave the other girl a sweet smile, "But if I told you then it wouldn't be a secret now would it?"

Kurt snickered and he watched as Mercedes finally caved, "Fine, but only to make Kurt happy. And boy you owe me one." She took a deep breath and said as fast as possible, "It'sSam."

Kurt blinked at the girl. _Sam? Like Sam, Sam?_ He had not seen that one coming.

Apparently neither had Santana, "Like Sam I am. I like Avatar Sam?"

"How many other Sam's do we know?" Mercedes retorted.

Looking at the smile on his friend's lips Kurt pulled her into his arms and said, "Oh Cedes! Come here and tell me absolutely everything." Seeing her concerned face Kurt hugged her closer and said, "Just because I've had my tender heart trampled on doesn't mean I've lost my appreciation for a good romantic story. I know love still exists in the world."

Mercedes nodded, "You'll find yours babe. I honestly thought that it would be with Blaine. It just made sense..."

Kurt looked down at his hands, "Yeah, so, I've discovered that relationships don't really make sense."

"Tell me about it! I never even saw Sam coming... And if yours isn't Blaine that just means one thing."

"What's that?"

"There is someone out there even better waiting for you."

Kurt hadn't meant for the laugh to come out as bitter as it had. And really she was right. "Great, so when you find them. Be sure to let me know. Now give me details!"

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

Kurt and Mercedes were deep in conversation when the phone rang. Santana waved at Kurt that she would answer it. Kurt felt a small pang of guilt as the Latin exited the room. He hadn't meant to make her feel like a third wheel. He saw her look down at the caller ID and she smile. As she closed the door behind her he caught her say, "You've reached 1-800-Princess. Santana speaking."

Dave blinked blankly at the walls for a moment. "Lopez? Where's Kurt?"

"Sorry baby. He's in the middle of some serious girl talk with Mercedes. Wanna leave a message?"

Dave grumbled as he moved around his kitchen looking for something that could be considered reasonable lunch/breakfast food. _Maybe not breakfast…_Dave was pretty sure that 2pm meant that he'd missed breakfast all together today. He really shouldn't have stayed up all night playing video games.

He ended up settling for a random bag of deli meat and pickles. "He called me last night. But I let my damn battery run down. So I didn't see the call or text until today…." He shoved some food into his mouth, "Why are all the girls over? Kinda early for a slumber party ain't it?"

There was a long pregnant pause before Santana's voice came back, "You don't know do you?" Dave's stomach dropped. _Know what? What the hell was he supposed to know?_ His mind was running through hundreds of horrible possibilities when he heard Santana's voice again, "Yo! Karofsky! You still there?"

Dave grunted and shoved the food away, "Yeah. What don't I know?" When he didn't get an answer Dave's tone lowered and he said again, "Lopez, tell me."

"Blaine broke up with Kurt last night."

Dave choked on the pickle he'd just put in his mouth. _What the fucking fuck?_ "Say again?"

He heard Santana's sigh, "You heard me just fine."

"Did he say why?"

"Nope."

"How is he?"

He heard her sigh, "Like he got his heart ripped out. But he's going to be okay."

Dave wasn't sure what he should do. _Should I go over? Should I give him space? What the hell had happened? _"Should I come over?"

"I think we got it right now."

Dave thought about that for a minute. Kurt had called him last night. Probably right after it had happened. Kurt wanted him over there. "No, I'm coming over."

There was another exasperated sigh on the other end, "That's not a good idea."

"Why not?" Dave growled into the phone.

"He's happy right now. Doing the girl thing with us. You don't need to burst in here being all loud and white knightish. Give him some time to figure out how he feels about all of this."

"But he called me…"

Dave thought he could hear Santana rolling her eyes as she said, "First of all, for the record, whining? Not sexy. And of course that means something you dolt! That you were the first person he thought of. But trust me, let us handle this part. Okay?"

Dave didn't get it but Santana knew more about this shit than he did. So he just grunted, "Fine."

"Thank you."

Dave was starring out the kitchen window at his backyard. But he wasn't seeing it. His head was somewhere else entirely. He couldn't go over to Kurt's, couldn't talk to him. What the hell was he supposed to do? Suddenly he knew what he could do. "Lopez, I gotta go. Tell Kurt I'll call him later." He hung up quickly and grabbed for a clean shirt and his car keys. He needed to find out what the hell was going on. If he left now he'd get to Blaine's house in about an hour. Less, since he was planning to violate as many speed laws as possible along the way.

Getting into his truck he realized that Kurt would probably figure out what he was doing. Especially if Santana told Kurt that Dave had called. _And she totally will._ The last thing Dave needed was a worried and panicy Kurt Hummel blowing up his phone for fifty fucking minutes. So he took out his phone and typed a quick message. Pushing send and then starting up the engine.

Kurt looked away from Mercedes for a moment and watched Santana come back into the room a frown on her face. "Who was it?" Kurt asked.

"You're favorite bear."

Kurt reached up for his phone. "Dave?"

Santana held onto it. "He had to go. He just wanted to say sorry for missing you last night. And that he'd call you back."

Kurt looked curiously at Santana. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Kurt's brows twitched up and Mercedes said, "No, you have 'something' face."

Santana shrugged her shoulders and Kurt got off the bed touching both the girl's shoulders, "Did you tell him?"

Santana looked at Kurt nodding her head slowly, "Yeah."

"Oh crap." Kurt muttered under his breath. He had meant to break the news to Dave gently. The jock didn't really do well with having big news dropped on him. "Why didn't you let me tell him?"

"You were busy." Santana said shrugging.

Kurt rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Do you think he's dangerous?" Mercedes asked coming around the room to stand next to the other two.

Santana let out a short bark of laughter and Kurt gave her a look. Turing back to Mercedes he gave her a reassuring smile, "Dave? No way. But he's an actiony kind of guy. Always needs to be macho. Which means he can be kinda dumb sometimes."

Kurt figured Dave was off to do something very damn manly...also known as yelling at Blaine. _Well, Blaine kinda deserved it. _Kurt knew that the two boys would be fine. They were friends. And if Dave went over to chew Blaine out then Kurt could ask him about it later. Then maybe he'd get some damn answers.

Everyone in the room jumped when Kurt's phone began to vibrate. He snatched it away from Santana and opened the message. It was from Dave.

DONT WRRY IM NOT GUNNA DO ANTYHING 2 DUMB

All three of them looked down at the message. Then back up to each other.

"Okay, that was just creepy." Mercedes said.

Santana nodded in agreement, "Damn boy is psychic."

"No, he just knows I worry too much." Kurt missed the look that Mercedes and Santana shared.

"He's changed a lot." Mercedes said to the room.

Santana and Kurt shared a look and the Latina reached out for his hand. He took it and said, "I like to think that he's just become more himself."

Mercedes sat down on the edge of the bed, her expression thoughtful, "It's odd to think that he was still giving us slushy facials five months ago."

Kurt looked down at the girl on his bed. He'd been so caught up in the whole thing that he'd never really stopped to think about what it looked like on the outside. Kurt had always been very careful to not discuss Dave with the other kids in Glee. Kurt had always been very guarded about his friendship with Dave, even now. He knew that Dave had gotten close to some of the guys, like Finn…and Blaine. He waited for the pain to hit when he thought the name and while it was there it was a dull ache instead of the sharp stab he'd expected. _Odd._

Santana plopped down next to the other girl, "Look, I will deny saying this if anyone ever brings it up to him but he's actually kinda sweet, in a large Neanderthal kind of way." She coughed lightly before dropping her voice a little, "And I just want you to know that I never…with Sam…we never…you know."

Mercedes nodded slowly, "Thank for telling me."

Kurt caught Santana's eye and smiled softly at her. He moved and sat down between the girls, pulling them both to him, "You're sweet too, Santana."

She scoffed, "Just cuz I'm here letting you cry on my shoulder does not mean that I wouldn't still cut a bitch. I'm still all Lima Hights, recognize?"

Mercedes hugged Kurt and after a second said, "Hey, aren't we supposed to be making you feel better?"

"You are. I'm not sure what I would have done without you three today."

The door opened and Rachel breezed in saying, "You'd probably still be in bed in yesterday's clothes."

"That's a horrid thing to say to me!" Kurt said clutching at his heart.

"You done sucking face with Frankenteen then?" Santana asked quirking up an eyebrow.

Rachel blushed and Kurt put his fingers in his ears, "Lalalala! There will be no talk of Finn face sucking in my room!"

Squaring her shoulders and clearing her throat Rachel said with as much dramatic hurt as she could muster, "I only came in here to say that Carol wanted me to tell you that the pizzas are here."

Mercedes clapped her hands, "Fab! I think it's just about time for a pizza binge and a movie marathon."

"Oh! Oh! Romantic comedies!" Rachel squeed to the room. Kurt watched as Santana made a face while Rachel brought her hands together in excitement. He really hoped he'd be able to keep the peace between those two until the end of the night.

"Food first. Then we can argue about movies after." Kurt said trying to usher the herd of girls out of his room and down the stairs. Maybe Finn would be able to help him keep the overwhelming levels of estrogen in check for a few hours.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

Dave pulled up and into Blaine's driveway. Even to himself he didn't know exactly why he had to drive up here. But he needed to know what was going on. And Blaine would tell him. He'd spent the last part of an hour driving getting more and more pissed off. He knew that he should probably sit in the car and count to like a trillion or something to calm down. But, fuck it! He was here and Blaine was going to explain to Dave what in the hell he was doing? He couldn't remember getting out of the car but suddenly he was banging on the large wooden front door. _Oh shit._ He really needed to calm down.

The door opened and Dave was looking down at Blaine. The boy was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and from the dark circles under his eyes it seemed like he hadn't slept in a while.

Dave stood there in the doorway awkwardly, unsure what to say. Blaine looked like hell.

Blaine gave a small sigh and crossed his arms, "I was wondering when you'd get here. I honestly expected you to show up to bitch me out much earlier." Blaine left the door open and turned. He took two steps in the hallway then turned his head back to see Dave still standing outside, "You coming in or you wanna yell at me from outside?"

And just like that Dave was pissed off again. _Who the hell did Eyebrows think he fucking was?_ "Yeah, I'm fucking coming in." Dave growled out slamming the door shut behind him.


	18. Someone Like You

_Sorry for making everyone wait so long! I spent a really long time working through this chapter and bouncing around between details of what I wanted and what needed to happen. I really hope that I gave Blaine a good send off in this chapter because he's going to be absent for a while after this, but he'll be back eventually... I am continuously overwhelmed by all the positive reviews, adds and alerts. Thank you so, so much guys. There were a couple of times during this chapter when I just wanted to throw in the towel but it was all of you who kept me plugging along. All my love. And I hope you enjoy!  
_

* * *

**Chapter 18 – Someone Like You**

_~Nothing compares, No worries or cares, Regrets and mistakes, They are memories made. Who would have known, How bittersweet this would taste?~_

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**_  
_

As soon as the door closed Dave had launched into a long, angry and basically unintelligible string of curses and accusations. Blaine wasn't exactly sure what Dave was yelling behind him but none of them were flattering. Blaine was happy that Dave was following him so he couldn't see him roll his eyes.

A heavy hand landed on his shoulders as Dave yelled, "Stop fucking walking!" Dave spun Blaine around, hands fisted into Blaine's shirt. Blaine raised his hands up, in a gesture of surrender. He knew that this initial diatribe would die off in a moment. Dave's anger burned very hot but almost always died out pretty quickly. He'd listened to the bigger boy enough to know how he got angry. So Blaine didn't talk and he didn't try to get away. Dave's hands clenched tighter in his shirt, the two of them looking at each other silently.

When Blaine felt Dave's hands start to relax he said, "You're not going to hit me Dave."

"Wanna bet on it?" Dave growled. Blaine reached his hands up and put them tentatively on Dave's wrists. Still looking at the bigger boy. Finally, Dave dropped his hands with a sigh. Blaine was right. He'd never be able to hit the shorter boy. He took a step back. When he thought he saw Blaine smile he hissed out, "But I am going to fucking yell at you!

"Come on then." Blaine said turning again and walking farther into the house.

Dave followed Blaine into the house fuming. He'd thrown every obscenity that he could think of at the shiny back of Blaine's head as they moved through the house. He was about to reach out and spin the shorter boy around again... _This wasn't a joke! And so help him God Blaine would listen to what he had to say! _But when they entered the living room something changed... and it was all the fault of a single piece of furniture. Dave saw the couch and he faltered, his voice dying. It was the black couch that Kurt had kissed him on after prom.

Blaine turned at the sudden silence and raised one triangular eyebrow. But he was quick to take advantage of the sudden quiet. "Sit down Hero. I want to talk to you." He gestured at the couch.

Dave hadn't wanted to sit down but there was something in the other boy's voice that had him sitting before he could even think about objecting. Blaine took a seat across from him. And the bigger boy suddenly couldn't help but wonder if Blaine hadn't sat him on the couch on purpose... But that was stupid, Dave didn't even know if Blaine knew that the kiss had happened on this couch. Almost in the same fucking spot he was sitting in now...

They sat there silently looking at each other for around five minutes. The sound of the grandfather clock in the hallway ticking hollowly around them. Blaine had his hands clasped together, head tilted slightly; one eyebrow arched expectantly just watching the bigger boy. Dave felt like he was a five year old in trouble with his dad. Hadn't Dave come over here because Blaine was the one in trouble? When had the switch happened? Somewhere between the front door and this damn couch.

Blaine actually had no idea where the kiss had happened. But watching Dave sink into the leather and go all quiet and fidgety Blaine started to figure it out. _Ah, so that's where it must have happened..._ Dave hadn't been in Blaine's house since the morning after Prom. So that would be the only reason why the jock was so obviously uncomfortable. It was an unexpected development. Blaine had wanted Dave belligerent, wanted him so angry that he wouldn't even notice that he was being manipulated into place. Looking at Dave though, Blaine knew that approach wasn't going to work. He'd have to actually be up front with Dave Karofsky. Blaine only hoped that the other boy would listen and understand. They had spent a lot of time on Xbox talking and laughing. Their personalities weren't totally dissimilar. So maybe, just maybe, Dave would understand...

Finally Blaine sighed and trying to get Dave's mind off of the damn couch he said coldly, "I have to tell you Dave, I'm disappointed. This is the lamest attempt at a telling off I've ever seen. I mean you started off strong but you need to work on your stamina."

Dave's eyes flashed at that. "Fuck off! You been taking lessons on how to be a bitch from Kurt and Lopez or something?"

Blaine tilted his head in an indefinable gesture, "Well, you being quiet and awkward messes up my plans."

Dave's jaw tightened, "Sorry to disappoint you Eyebrows."

"No, no nicknames."

"You started it with that _Hero_ shit earlier. But fine. Sorry to disappoint you…Blaine." Dave shoved every piece of anger and disappointment into the name. Dave wasn't dumb but being around Blaine sometimes made him feel awkward and klutzy. He hated to admit it but he had looked up to Blaine. Looked up to the way Blaine could use words and deal with people. The way he treated Kurt, like royalty... exactly the way Dave would have treated the singer if Dave had been given half the chance. But Blaine had gone and fucked that all up. And Dave had no idea why. He'd become invested in the success of Kurt and Blaine, because they made it look so damn easy. That it would be possible to have it all. So when Dave and Blaine locked eyes he did tried to show that utter and complete frustration in them, and this time Blaine dropped his gaze first. Dave jumped at the moment of weakness. "But really, what the hell man..."

Blaine had dropped his eyes to try and think how he wanted to start. And the accusing look that Dave had been giving him was just too much. _He was doing this for Dave and Kurt! _He shot his eyes back up and glared at the other boy. "Dave. Shut up. This is important. And if you still feel like breaking my bones afterward well...I can't stop you." _And I wouldn't totally blame you either..._

Now with the opportunity to understand Dave suddenly wasn't sure he wanted Blaine to explain. _What do I want?_ Did he want them to get back together? Dave didn't know. All he knew for certain was that he didn't want Kurt to be unhappy. And today, Kurt was very, very unhappy. So he spoke again, "Why'd you do it?"

Dave's voice had been low but it had been very clear. Blaine shut his eyes at the pained tone in them. "I had to."

"But why? You two…" Dave paused looking for the word he wanted, "You guys…I dunno, match."

Blaine looked up. "Kurt and I aren't a pair of socks Dave."

Dave groaned, "You know what I meant."

True, he had understood what Dave had been trying to say. "Kurt and I are best friends. Of course we compliment each other…" Blaine inhaled deeply, "But he doesn't love me." Blaine thought about the words he'd just said. About the finality of them. He'd thought them for a long while now, but hearing them for the first time... it felt different. More real.

Dave's body jerked in surprise, he scowled at the curly haired boy, "Are you fucking crazy?" _Dude was huffing goofballs._ How could Blaine say Kurt didn't love him?

Blaine waved a hand dismissively, "Well, he loves me. Just not that way."

Dave wasn't sure if he should ask his next question. But it was important and at the moment he didn't give two flying fucks about tact. "And you?"

Blaine narrowed his eyes at Dave. "What about me?"

"Do you love him," Dave parroted Blaine's hand gesture, "That way?"

Blaine was a little surprised that the other boy had asked him that. He was more surprised when he looked up and saw that Dave was actually waiting for him to answer the question. "I'm not sure. But I don't think so."

"How do you know?"

Blaine ran a hand through his curls. "Because I think I would be hurting more for the relationship I lost and not just pining for the friendship I may have sacrificed."

The silence was back. Filling the space between them. Both boys wading through their thoughts and feelings. Separate inside their heads.

Dave broke the silence, "You haven't told me why."

Blaine frowned...hadn't he? "Sure I have."

Dave shook his head. "No. You dodged it. You always dodge questions you don't want to answer. But I'm not leaving until I get the real one."

Dave was right. He'd gotten so wrapped up in the prologue he'd actually forgotten the whole point of this conversation for a moment. But he was tired. He hadn't been able to sleep last night...bad dreams. It probably didn't help that he had also been alone in his house with nothing but his thoughts for company. "To be fair. I didn't dodge it. We got sidetracked. I actually wanted to explain."

Dave was getting a little annoyed. He needed to move. He wanted to get up. To yell or run or...something, anything."Then stop dancing around and fuckin spit it out!"

Blaine could see Dave becoming more and more antsy. So he took one more deep breath and plunged in. "I've run away from so many things in my life. Every hard decision. Because, honestly, I hate conflicts. Can't stand them. I like things to be easy, with a flow to them. I like the ideas of things, like love, but the real stuff actually terrifies me. And I will be damned if I help Kurt do the same thing. I care about him way too much for that." He paused for a moment, before continuing. "Dating your best friend seemed like a great idea. I mean Kurt is amazing. I've never met anyone that burns as bright as he does. And we clicked, our friendship quickly became the best thing in my life. So, why couldn't something that easy be more too? But really it wasn't. It was good, because it was safe. And really, dating for us was mostly just a change in facebook status'. I wanted it to be more. But it was like he knew it wasn't totally right sometimes." He watched Dave's face looking for something in it. But the jock's face was a very careful blank. Blaine sighed, "But he never would've broken up with me. Not until we naturally would've fallen into being just friends again in college or something."

"That doesn't sound like a bad plan." Dave had struggled to keep his face neutral as Blaine talked. For Dave everything was hard and messy. Had been since he started noticing boys. He had never really spent too much time thinking about the way he cared about people. He usually only let people get so far... That was the way it was. Maybe that was why he'd kissed Kurt in the locker room... It had been him inviting Kurt in. Further than anyone he'd ever known, in the only way he knew how. And when Kurt had pushed him away...Nothing with Kurt had ever been easy for Dave. The ease that the two of them had now, that had been worth waiting for. There entire friendship was made up of Kurt pushing Dave. But instead of pushing Dave away Kurt pushed Dave with him, pulling the boy with him until he could actually be happy. Dave had always envied the ease of Kurt and Blaine's relationship. How simple they seemed to make it. But Dave knew in his heart that it would never be that simple between him and Kurt. There was too much grime left from his own stupidity on their friendship. Even if Kurt had forgiven him... "Okay, that's why you broke up with Kurt. But come on man... I still don't see how you can say that he doesn't love you."

Blaine pursed his lips. "Come on Dave. Let's not pretend that you and I don't know what's going on here."

Dave pulled out of his thoughts and focused back on Blaine. The shorter boy had spoken like he should know something. Like that answer was obvious. He frowned and shook his head a little. "Dude, I really don't know what you're talkin about."

Blaine squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed at his temples. "Kurt loves you...Or he's as close to it as he's ever been with anyone." Blaine looked up at the other sitting across from him. Dave had the strangest expression on his face."Dave?" When he didn't get an answer he yelled at the boy to snap him out of it, "Dave!"

Dave looked at Blaine like the shorter boy had suddenly started speaking Swahili. Blaine couldn't be serious? _Oh God, he is serious._ "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Really, I probably should have seen it earlier. But I guess I kinda didn't want to. I mean. I was scared, scared that if he and I broke up that I would lose all of him. But that really isn't fair. To any of us..."

"You have lost your fucking mind..."

"Oh just stop it!"

"No!" Dave surged to his feet. Unable to sit any longer. He paced quickly around the room, "Are you even hearing yourself? You just broke up with your best friend because you've convinced yourself he's in love with me? The guy that used to terrify the shit out of him? The guy that threatened to kill him?" _Oh shit, where had that last bit come from? _

There was a pause as Blaine rose to his feet and moved toward the bigger boy, "Dave. You know you're going to have to forgive yourself for that one day..."

Dave closed his eyes and shook his head, backing away from the smaller boy. "Shut up. We're not talking about me. We're talking about you! You and your crazy need to be a self-sacrificing martyr!"

Blaine tilted his head and smiled. "That was redundant Dave..."

"I'm going to redundant you if you don't stop being such a dumb-ass!" Dave growled out.

Blaine reached out and patted Dave on the shoulder. A bitter sweet smile spreading across his face. "It's a little too late for that... I've sort of past the point of no return on this one..."

_Shit! Blaine was right._ The other boy could've just destroyed the easy friendship the three of them had so careful cultivated. And all because he was convinced of something totally crazy. "Jesus fucking Christ Blaine."

Blaine's voice took on a softer more comforting tone. "I'm counting on you to get him to forgive me."

At that Dave went back to the couch and sat down heavily. "Fuck. No pressure or anything... but really, he'll forgive you. I mean, he forgave me."

"Yeah well, he loves you." Blaine said taking up his seat again as well.

"Stop saying that! You can't know that." _God, please don't get my fucking hopes up._

"You're right. There is no way for me to know the inner workings of Kurt's mind. But I pride myself on knowing Kurt pretty darn well. I know when he cares about stuff. And when you do. So just stop. You're a good guy Dave. You just sat here and argued with me for like twenty minutes to get me back together with the boy you've been holding a torch for forever. But that part is out of your hands. What I need you to do now is man the fuck up! Because seriously, if I've jeopardized my friendship with Kurt for nothing...I'm going to be really pissed off at you. You do love him don't you?" The last hadn't been a serious question. The answer had always been obvious to Blaine.

But Dave actually tried to think about it. "I don't know." He paused considering, "It might just be that he was the first boy I ever kissed. I don't know for sure what I feel... Fuck! I just needed to touch him, I needed to show him what was wrong with me and then I kissed him..."

Blaine had, had enough. This was absolutely ridiculous. Who did Dave think he was talking too? Really? He couldn't sit here a watch Dave second guess himself into messing everything up. _Damnit! _Blaine huffed out an exasperated sigh and rolling his eyes stood up, closed the distance and grabbing Dave's face with both of his hands kissed the larger boy full on the mouth.

If Dave had known what Blaine was about to do he would have probably run out of the house. Or he might have punched Blaine before he got close enough. But the idea of Blaine kissing him had never crossed his mind. So it took him completely by surprise. Dave froze to the spot. It had been a very short kiss but...Blaine had just kissed him. Dave had no idea what to do with that information. None. At. All. So he just sat there staring at the other boy in shock. Trying to figure out what had just happened.

Blaine folded his arms and said, "Oh stop looking at me like that. I'm not interested in you that way. So stop freaking out. I can literally see those wheels in your head spinning at a million miles an hour right now."

Dave found his voice, "Then why IN THE FUCK did you just do that?"

"How did it feel?"

"Weird. Really, really fucking weird." Dave dragged the back of his hand over his mouth.

"I'll just ignore that hit to my pride. But when Kurt kissed you, not when you kissed Kurt, but when he kissed you...how did it feel?"

Dave paused and then dropped his gaze to his hands. There was something freaky about this couch. So far both times he'd sat on it he'd gotten kissed. He thought about the two kisses, about what he'd felt when Kurt had kissed him. Beyond the guilt and anger and bad fucking timing... _Oh..._Dave looked up at Blaine, eyes wide.

Blaine nodded slowly, "Do you understand now?"

Dave nodded dumbly, finally adding a lame "Oh..." to the end.

"Yeah."

"You are freakishly aware of people."

Blaine smiled sadly, "Sometimes cripplingly..."

Dave frowned at the tone of Blaine's voice, "What? Come on, I never thought I stood a chance against you. You're so damn suave and fearless. Both of you... And what the hell am I? Just some chubby jack-ass...trailing along after the two of you."

"You're not chubby Dave. And really Kurt is the fearless one...I'm just energetic."

"Why do you always do that? Put yourself down?"

"Why do you?" Blaine asked back gently.

Dave almost whispered, "Because it's easier..."

Blaine nodded. "Exactly."

Dave let out a deep sigh, putting a hand over his eyes. "How the hell did we end up here?"

Blaine rubbed the back of his neck, thinking. "Life is funny that way. But I think we both ended up here because of a certain boy named Kurt Hummel." He sat on the couch next to Dave. "Kurt is the link between you and me. Without you, Dave, I never would have met Kurt. And if Kurt had never met me then he probably wouldn't have cornered you in that locker room. I told him to confront his bully… And if you hadn't kissed him and freaked out he never would have transferred to Dalton, I never would have gotten to know him so well. And if he hadn't come to Dalton and become less scared he might have never listened to your apology."

"You make it sound like a really fucked up game of emotional ping-pong."

Blaine chuckled. "It kind of is…But we're each others reason why Kurt is in our lives. I don't think I've ever said thank you for that." He looked over to the other boy, "So, thank you."

Dave's hands gripped his knees as he said, "There aren't enough ways for me to say thank you for what you have done for me. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah." Blaine breathed out slowly, "Now that you finally understand what's going on. I think I will be."

"You might be one of the best people I've ever known. And the craziest..."

Blaine smiled. "Thanks. Same goes for you. You'll take care of him this summer right?"

"Of course I will. But dude. You're kinda putting me on the spot though."

"You can do it."

"You ever heard of the term rebound, moron?"

Blaine gave Dave a look, "I'm going to be out of the picture until the last week of August. Plenty of time to get some good ground work done. I wasn't telling you to drive straight over to Kurt's house and profess your undying love for him. Come on."

_God, Blaine really had thought this crazy ass plan through hadn't he?_ His eyes widened in fear and he suddenly asked, "What do I tell Kurt? He knows I came out here. And you know he's gunna wanna know what went down."

"He can't know. If he knows it'll ruin everything."

"Yeah. I know. But what do I say?"

"You can tell him I cried."

"So, you want me to lie to him?"

Blaine stood up, putting his back to Dave, "It's not going to be a lie after you leave. If that makes you feel better..."

"Blaine..." The sound of the other boy's voice made Dave stand up slowly.

"No." Blaine said, lifting up a hand, "I don't owe you tears. And I prefer to do my falling apart alone. I'm going to be fine Dave."

_Yeah, sure you are. _Dave pulled Blaine into his arms, hugging the shorter boy fiercely for a moment before saying, "You know I came here to push you around and yell at you? And now we're hugging...God, I'm so fucking gay."

Blaine couldn't help but laugh. He put his face on Dave's shoulder and used the material to dry the corners of his eyes. He'd hold onto his tears until finally broke apart. And looking up at him Blaine said tiredly, "Now get out. I have to finish packing."

Dave nodded and turned, heading for the door. When he got to the hallway he said over his shoulder, "Have a good summer Eyebrows."

"You too. Don't fuck this up."

Dave grunted and walked out of the house.

Blaine stood in his living room for a good long while. He heard Dave's truck pull away. _This was going to work. Everything was going to be alright. _Or at least he really hoped so.


	19. Best for Last

_Hello to all of the amazing people that have read and reviewed this story so far. I know it's been a long time since I last updated. Real life has a way of getting in the way of things but here it is! Chapter 19! There was so much ground to cover in this chapter and I really hope that I've kept the voices true. Thank you to everyone that inquired, mailed and asked me about Rolling in the Deep. You guys really kept me working at this. And the last thing that pushed me along was seeing our lovely Dave in this last glee episode. He sounded so much like the Dave that's been living in my head it got my need to write fired up again. So much love to all of you! I really hope you enjoy this chapter! _**  
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**Chapter****19**** – ****Best ****For ****Last**

_ ~And I think that I know things may never change. I'm still hopin' one day I might hear you say. I make you feel a way you've never felt before. And I'm all you need and that you never want more. Then you'd say all of the right things without a clue. But you'd save the best for last like I'm the one for you. ~_

**Mid June**

Dave paced the living room impatiently waiting for Santana. "Woman doesn't know what it means to be ON TIME!" he grumbled to no one in-particular because he was the only one home. He flung himself into the sofa and drummed his fingers against the arm. His palms were sweaty and somewhere inside him he knew he was being ridiculous. It was only the movies after all. But it was the movies with the glee club and ...Kurt.

After he'd gotten back from Blaine's his parents had decided on an impromptu camping trip with some out of state cousins. And apparently Dave's cell phone didn't work too well in the middle of nowhere. Not that he hadn't enjoyed the trip, he had. His dad and him had several really good talks while sitting out in the fishing boat. There hadn't been many fish but that wasn't really the point of fishing. Fishing was a test in stillness, in patience and being able to just exist in the world around you. At least, that was what his Grandfather had always said.

It had been kind of nice being out in nature again. Dave had always loved getting out under the stars ever since he was little. But he'd given up Boy Scouts his freshman year because he'd been too scared to go camping with a bunch of other boys... So it had been good, really good to finally not be afraid anymore. To just be himself and for that to be okay. But when he'd gotten back all relaxed and excited to see Kurt, Dave had gotten a text saying that Kurt had gone to his grandmothers.

Which meant that Dave had spent the last week talking to Kurt via text messages getting more and more nervous about seeing him.

_DAVE:__U__DONE__YUR__GMAS__YET?_

_ KURT: 2 MORE DAYS! WHATS YOUR RUSH?_

_ DAVE: IM BORED!_

_ KURT: HAHAHA DNT U HAVE OTHER FRIENDS?_

_ DAVE: ZS AT HIS MOMS FOR THE SUMMER…FINNS W U._

_ KURT: WELL B BCK SOON ENUF. THEN IM GIVIN U THE BIGGEST HUG._

_ DAVE: HAHA. NOT IF I HUG U 1ST._

_ KURT: UR ON!_

Dave wasn't sure if what they had been doing would be considered flirting or just friendly…Suddenly the simplest texts became fraught with double meaning and innuendo, and it had been driving him slowly insane.

Dave was on his feet the moment he heard the door bell. Flinging the door open and almost bellowing, "Jesus woman! What took you?"

Santana raised an eyebrow and said, "I can't control traffic lights. Get out of the way! I need to pee like a racehorse…" She stopped as she walked past Dave into the house. Then turned slowly back to him, "Whoa, whoa, wait. Are you wearing cologne?"

Dave flushed, "No!" He looked down at his feet before mumbling out, "It's, uh, aftershave."

Santana's look had Dave withering where he stood, "Oh honey…No."

Dave moved until his back hit the wall with a dull thud. Scrubbing his hands over his face, "I don't know what the fuck I'm doing…It took me two hours to dress! It's all this fucking pressure."

He had told Santana the whole Blaine story as soon as he'd come back from camping. She'd been uncharacteristically quiet during the entire thing, only nodding her head as she listened to Dave. At the end of the story all she said was, _"__I__ guess__ I __owe __Blaine __an__ apology__…__.__"_ Dave hadn't asked what she needed to apologize for, he could guess.

He scrubbed his hands over his face harder, until he felt a hand touch his arm, "Calm down Karofsky." Santana said gently, "You're way over thinking. It's not that hard."

Dave dropped his hands and scoffed, "Oh yeah. It's super easy! Hi Kurt! I'm gay. You're hot. Let's fuck! Oh, and I love you.."

Dave could see the Latina struggling to keep the smile off her face, "Probably not the opening I would go with…" Santana looked at Dave for a long time before she started laughing.

Dave pouted at her. _This __wasn't__ fuckin__ funny!_"No shit. I'm fucking doomed."

She rolled her eyes, "Dios mio you're dramatic today. Look, nothing's changed."

"Blaine…"

"Oh shut up about Frodo for a minute. You're still you. Kurt is still Kurt. And that's all that should matter. So take a pill and stop being such a spaz!"

Dave looked at the girl across from him before letting out a deep sigh, his shoulders slumping forward, "I'm gonna go take a shower…"

Santana patted his shoulder, "Probably a good idea. You smell like my Grandpadre Miguel."

Twenty minutes later Dave was showered and wearing the blue t-shirt Kurt had said looked nice on him months ago. Coming down the stairs he said, "Better?"

"Much. Original Karofsky. Accept no substitutes." She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door. "Now come the fuck on! I've gotten like twenty texts wondering where the hell we are!"

"What did you tell them?"

"That you were having a wardrobe malfunction."

"You didn't…"

"Of course not! I said I got sidetracked by being yelled at by my mom."

"Thanks Lopez."

"Whatever. You're paying for my ticket and an extra large popcorn. Oh! And I wants me a cherry Icee."

"Yes, dear."

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo**

As they pulled up to the theater and parked Santana hit the door locks.

Dave pulled on the door handled before he rounded on the girl, "What the hell?"

Santana just waved her hand, "Shhh. And repeat after me. I. Will. Not. Spaz."

Dave rolled his eyes. Looking back at Santana for a moment before he realized that she was serious, "Ah man.." he grumbled, "Fine. I will not spaz."

Santana nodded approvingly, "And when you see Lady you'll relax and give him a hug-"

"Umm, that statement is completely contradictory."

"Shh! You will give him a hug and try and refer to our previous statement. I will not spaz."

"Yes. Mother."

Santana slapped Dave upside the head lightly, "Don't even start with me Karofsky. Or I will leave your ass in this sling."

Dave flinched at the hit. "Christ, relax with the hitting will ya!"

Santana snorted, "You'll be fine. Now I want you to repeat one more thing."

"But I just-"

"I."

Dave folding his arms over his chest. Resigning himself. "I."

"Deserve."

"Deserve."

"Good things." Dave looked at the girl across from him, blinking. "Say it Dave...please."

"Good things..." He breathed out into the car.

Santana gave him a soft smile that was just a bit sad around the edges."The whole thing."

Dave hated when she smiled like that. It always made him feel like he was letting her down somehow. But maybe if he said the words and believed them, then just maybe she would believe them too. So he took a deep breath and after the exhale he said, "I deserve good things."

Santana nodded and pushed the button, unlocking the doors. The smile disappeared, masked by her trademark smirk. "Never say I don't do anything for you."

Dave touched Santana's arm and pulled her into a hug, the angle was awkward but he waited until she returned it. "You do too you know." He said softly.

Santana pulled away and patted him on the shoulder.

They stepped out into the heat and walked together across the crowded parking lot. Dave saw the group first. Huddled under the shade of a lone tree. But he couldn't see Kurt. He craned his head farther, squinting.

"You're going to pull something doing that. Chill, he's there."

Dave blushed, "Stop reading my mind."

"Oh please, I'm reading your face." Santana retorted, shoving him a little, "Really, you've turned into a total pansy in two weeks flat. You're going to fuck this up if you don't just relax a bit."

Dave cracked his shoulders and took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly. Lopez was right. He knew it. Nothing had changed. Not really. Kurt was still hurting and they were just friends.

"Oh there they are!" Finn said.

"Finally!" Rachel snorted.

Kurt perked up. He'd been trying to pay attention to everyone talking around him but had found his mind wandering. He hadn't seen Dave in over two weeks. It felt a lot longer though, even with texting. Kurt had loved sitting around with his grandmother watching old Elizabeth Taylor movies and spending time with his Dad, Carol and Finn. It had felt like a full family. A feeling that Kurt had wanted for a long, long time. And yet, he hadn't been totally happy. Like something was missing. At first he thought it was guilt, over feeling like a family without his mom. Or maybe it was him missing Blaine?

But seeing Dave and Santana jokingly push at each other as they crossed the parking lot he felt that heavy rock he'd been carrying around in his chest going away. _It__'__s __because __he__'__s__ become __my__ best __guy __friend._ Kurt chided himself. _Of __course__ I __missed__ him._ Kurt couldn't stop the smile but waited for the duo to approach the group. They spoke for a bit before they began to move slowly towards the entrance to the theater. Kurt hung back, coming up to walk beside Dave."Hello David."

Dave looked down at Kurt, raising his eyebrows and giving him a look, "Really? Hello David?"

Kurt pursed his lips and giving a slightly shrug said, "Of course. What were you expecting?"

For a moment Dave's heart sank. _Sigh._ Then he caught the laughter behind Kurt's eyes and decided to play along, "Phhst. Nice to see you too, Hummel."

Kurt stopped walking and took a hold of Dave's wrist. Dave stopped, turning slowly to look at the smaller boy. Kurt's lips twitched up and Dave felt his follow the same trajectory. Kurt wrapped his arms around Dave's chest, hugging the bigger boy to him. Dave's arms went around Kurt's shoulders.

"It's good to see you." Dave said.

Kurt squeezed a little tighter replying, "Good to see you too." He pulled away and Dave's arms fell slowly back to his sides. Kurt nodded his head towards the rest of the group and started walking again, "You owe me a load of catch up gossip Dave."

"Yeah, I know. I know." Dave caught sight of Santana who gave him an approving smile. _Damn__ know__ it __all._

Tina said, "Movie now! We can all do the mid-summer catch up at Finn's July 4th BBQ."

"Woot! Pool party, fireworks and meat!" Puck said pumping a fist.

The group shuffled into the theater sighing in relief when the AC hit their skin. The movie wasn't crowded but no one said anything when Kurt sat next to Dave. Dave noticed that Evans and Mercedes sat next to each other, trying to be discrete about the fact that they were totally holding hands. _Apparently __that's __a__ thing._ Dave thought then shrugged, _Stranger__ things__ had__ happened._ Brittany was sharing Santana's large Icee, giggling lightly at whatever it was the Latina was whispering in her ear. He scanned the group for a minute before frowning and whispering to Kurt, "Mike and Vampire-lady," he rolled his eyes at Kurt's unamused eyebrow, "_Tina_ are still at Asian camp this week but where's Blondy?"

Kurt rolled his eyes at Dave. The bigger boy had a thing with re-naming people but over the last few months the names had become more terms of endearment than slurs. He shrugged at Dave's question. Putting a hand over Dave's he leaned closer to the bigger boy speaking in a conspiratorial whisper, "I asked Puck earlier. But apparently no one's seen her this summer so far. She basically just fell off the map."

Dave looked up and caught sight of Finn and Rachel two seats down breaking from a short kiss. "Can't really blame her can you? Sometimes getting away is the only way to deal."

Dave didn't realize what he'd said exactly until Kurt took his hand off of Dave's. "Yeah, sometimes people think that way, I guess." The tone had Dave looking up at the slender boy next to him. Kurt wasn't looking at him anymore, he was watching the early adverts, his lips pulling down slightly at the corners. _Way__ to __remind__ him __of __Blaine __bailing...you __dumbass._

Dave spent the rest of the movie kicking himself but at the end of the night Kurt had hugged him and asked again if Dave was coming to the 4th of July BBQ. Dave had smiled as he broke off to head home with Santana, "Of course Fancy. Wouldn't miss it."

Dave could see the smile Kurt gave him at that answer for the rest of the night. Including long after he'd fallen asleep.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

**Late****June**

Dave was nervous. He was actually a little past nervous and more in the realm of intimidated out of his mind. He looked at the gruff looking man next to him and then to Finn on his other side. Who only seemed to have eyes for the short brunet girl he was sitting next to. _Kurt__ had __done __this __to __him __on __purpose! __Just __to__ watch __him__ squirm...__He __was __sure __of __it._ That was the only logical explanation why Kurt would invite him to a baseball game so he wouldn't be lonely and then end up sitting next to Rachel for the last five innings discussing Julliard-knows-what. That had left Dave sitting in between Hudson and Kurt's Dad.

While Dave knew that Kurt's father had forgiven him enough not to shoot him on sight or toss him up against anymore walls he still felt like the man hated him. Dave couldn't really blame Burt Hummel for not liking the kid that had terrorized his only son for so long.

It never ceased to amaze Dave how different Kurt and his father were. They were basically polar opposites but even a blind guy could see how much Burt Hummel loved his son. The older man hadn't even put up a fight when he had seen what Kurt was planning to wear to the ball game. Dave hadn't known that they made pants that tight with that many straps on them. Dave had flushed a deep shade of red when he realized he was starring at Kurt's ass in front of his dad and had found an amazingly interesting spot on the wall to look at until they had left for the game.

They were now just after the seventh inning stretch and Dave was finally getting into the game. Finn stood up and said, "Anyone want something to eat? I'm gonna go find a coke."

The smile on Rachel's face as she looked at Finn made Dave feel like he was going to get Diabetes. "Finn, maybe just a pretzel for me. I'm trying to keep Kosher."

"Who's that?" Finn said looking blankly at his girlfriend.

Dave had laughed until he looked up and realized that Finn hadn't been joking. His jaw had clicked he'd stopped laughing so fast.

Kurt had caught Dave's eyes and rolled his. Kurt was stifling a laugh behind one hand but was dragged to his feet by Rachel. "Kurt! You're coming too!"

"Wha- why? They have people that will bring the food and drinks to me."

Rachel pouted at Kurt, "When have you ever passed up an opportunity to strut?"

Kurt didn't really want to leave Dave alone with his dad. But he hadn't wanted to say that out loud either. He looked at Rachel for a moment, willing the girl to understand him with her eyes. But obviously that had been too much to ask for. Sighing he nodded, "You're right. One quick cat walk then back."

Dave's eyes widened. _Is__ he __going __to __really __leave __me __alone __with __his __Dad? __Oh,__ fuck __he __totally __is._ Dave sank a little farther into his chair. Hoping to blend into the uncomfortable, green seat.

Kurt cast an apologetic look at Dave and his dad._ Oh__ God,__ Oh__ no. __Please, __please, __let __me__ come __back__ and __both__ of __them__ still __be__ breathing._ He mouthed an 'I'm sorry.' As he passed by the bigger boy. "We'll be right back..." Kurt managed out stressing the word right as much as he could without being too obvious. He hadn't meant to ignore Dave the whole game but Rachel had roped him in with ideas of New York and the little apartment they were totally going to share once they got there. He hadn't even realized how long they'd been talking.

Dave watched Kurt go with a look bordering on desperation. He sat stiffly in the seat, watching the game as intently as he could. Just hoping that the group wouldn't be long.

"So you like baseball?"

The question had startled Dave in it's suddenness. He turned to look at Kurt's father just to be sure he'd spoken, "Yes, sir." Dave answered simply. _Simple,__ respectful._ "Not as much as Football or Hockey but I like it."

Burt nodded, still not looking at Dave. He took out a peanut, shelled it and after chewing said, "My son talks to you a lot. He likes to pretend I don't notice things like that but I do."

Dave swallowed thickly and nodded, "Yes sir. Well, I mean. I talk to Kurt a lot too."

"You two have gotten to be pretty close..."

Dave had no idea where the conversation was going. Or what exactly Mr. Hummel wanted from him. But at least he hadn't yelled _STAY __AWAY__ FROM__ MY __SON __OR __I'LL __BEAT __YOU __TO __DEATH __WITH __A__ TIRE __IRON! _So, small mercies. "Yes sir. He's a good friend."

Burt Hummel turned to look at him and Dave flushed pink and looked down at the dirty ground. "I've been talking to your Dad a lot..." Dave had no idea what that meant. So he just sat quietly and waiting for Burt to continue. It took so long that Dave thought that maybe there hadn't been another point but then Burt added, "We're both really impressed with the changes you've made. Kurt's got a very forgiving heart. Just like his mom..."

Dave looked back at Burt for a long time. The sounds of the crowd cheering and standing for something forgotten around them. Dave blinked then said, "I think Kurt saved my life..." Dave had wanted to say something different, something more but that was what had come out.

But apparently that had been enough because Burt extended his hand and took Dave's shaking it. "Call me Burt." Dave smiled and Burt nodded.

"Yes sir, Mr. Hummel. Burt." They broke contact and turned to the game talking about the stupidity of designated hitters that had shitty averages and how if you didn't have a good pitching game then it always fell apart.

Finding Rachel a snack not fried in something possibly made of pork had taken much longer than Kurt had expected. He had finally bought the pretzel for her and started ushering Finn and Rachel back to their seats. When Finn asked what the rush was Kurt gave him a look. "Maybe I don't want to miss the game?" Finn hadn't looked convinced but Kurt really couldn't care less what his step-brother believed at the moment. If things went sour between Dave and his Dad it would make every time Kurt wanted see or talk to Dave a fight. Just like it had been that first night. Kurt couldn't stand the thought of having to see Dave behind his dad's back. And the even more upsetting realization was that Kurt would.

As Kurt made his way back to their seats, Rachel and Finn a few steps behind he suddenly stopped when he caught sight of Dave and his father. They were sitting together and laughing about something. Kurt's eyebrows flew up when he saw Burt slap Dave's back once in appreciation of something Dave had said. _Wait,__what?_A huge warm smile came to his face as he watched the two men a couple of rows below him interact. His dad would always mean the world to him and seeing him being able to laugh with Dave made him something in his chest tighten yet expand at the same time.

"Kurt! Look out!"

Kurt's arms flew up in instinctive reaction to the familiar yell. Thankfully he'd had the sweater he'd been carrying wrapped around both arms. Something small and hard got caught in the fabric and gripping it in the sweater he turned to look at Rachel and Finn a bit confusedly. Had he just gotten hit by something? Was his sweater ruined? Would Dave and his dad freak out at whoever had thrown something at him? Finn was smiling like a goof and stepping down shook Kurt's shoulders in rough congratulations. "Dude! You totally caught a fly ball!"

"What?" Kurt looked dazedly down into the sweater to see that Finn had been right. He looked up and saw both Dave and his father looking at him, both wearing almost identical looks of worry. He grinned lopsidedly and taking the ball out of the sweater walked down and showing them both said, "Well, it's not exactly a bouquet but I guess it will do for now."

Seeing that Kurt was alright Dave laughed along with the rest of the group.

The rest of the game went off without a hitch. The conversation easy and flowy after Kurt convinced Finn to switch seats with him.

When they got back to the Hummel'-Hudson residence Dave said his goodnights to the rest and headed towards his car. Kurt following him, "Just going to walk him out."

"Dude, " Finn said, "Don't say that. That's Rachel's code for making out with me when I have to leave her house."

Kurt flushed deep red but refrained from saying anything. Looking over at Dave to see if he'd heard Finn.

Dave had totally heard Finn... _Fuck,__ way__ to__ make __it __awkward __Hudson __you __prick._

They walked out of the house in silence Dave stood next to the driver's side door, key's in hand as he waited for Kurt to say something. Becoming more and more nervous by the second.

Finally Kurt broke the quiet filling up the air between them. "Did you have a good time?" Kurt asked.

Dave winced inwardly. Not sure what exactly was going on. "Of course. It was really cool Kurt. Thanks for inviting me."

Kurt nodded his head once then looked up at Dave with a bit of chagrin, "Yeah, I invite you then don't talk to you for most of the night. I'm a great friend."

Dave relaxed a bit at Kurt's smile and shrugged, "It's cool. Rachel looked like she was dying of boredom until you went over there and saved her." He bit at his thumb nail for a moment, "Your dad's a really cool guy."

Kurt smiled softly, "I saw you two talking. Or well the tail end of it." Kurt desperately wanted to ask Dave for details but for some reason didn't feel like pushing. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Trying to figure out why every silence felt like it was screaming in his ears.

Dave struggled to find something to fill the space. "It was a great game though. You catching that fly ball... I've never caught one."

Kurt laughed, "I have really good protect-the-face reflexes from McKinley." Kurt winced when he saw the look of guilt pass through Dave's eyes. He hadn't meant to bring the bullying up. It had never been all Dave anyway. Kurt reached into his sweater and taking the ball out said, "I wanted you to have it..."

Dave looked down at the ball then back up to Kurt, shaking his head a little, "It's yours, you caught it. Keep it."

Kurt wrinkled his nose, "But it doesn't go with anything in my room. And really what am I going to do with a baseball Dave? Come on, take it. It's my thank you for coming and sitting through everything with Rachel and my dad."

Dave could see the determination in Kurt's eyes. He wasn't going to get out of this one. Sighing heavily he reached out and took the ball from Kurt's hand. Doing his best not to feel like his whole body hadn't felt the jolt of electricity when he brushed Kurt's palm with his fingers. "Thanks Kurt."

Kurt looked up at Dave wondering why he felt so hot suddenly. He looked up at Dave until he started to feel awkward. So he touched his head quickly to the center of Dave's chest and backed away saying quickly. "Anytime Dave. Goodnight..."

"Goodnight." Dave stood there looking at Kurt. Neither of them moving until Dave said, his breathing getting a bit more unsteady, "Normally when you say goodnight you go inside Kurt..."

Kurt blinked at Dave blankly then blushed. "Oh right, sorry. Goodnight Dave. I'll see you in a week for the 4th of July. And on Skype much sooner than that."

"Yup. Night Kurt." Dave had said as Kurt walked back into the house. Dave got into the truck and had to take a few calming breaths. That had felt like the perfect fucking moment to tell Kurt everything. It had basically been written in a rom-com it was so fucking perfect. And Dave had let it slip right on by. He groaned and started the car, headed home to take a cold shower.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

**July****4****th**

Dave was carrying three watermelons up the few steps of the Hummel-Hudson house. Doing his best to keep his grip on the unruly fruit. Ringing the doorbell with his elbow he struggled to regain his hold on one melon that kept threatening to make a jump for it. _How __did __I __end __up __getting __roped __into __bringing __damn __watermelons? __That__'__s __right __Kurt __had__ said __please__…__ Sigh._

When the door swung open he glanced down and saw pink toenails. It was probably Rachel. She'd been a constant presence in the house ever since Finn and Kurt had come back. While not Dave's favorite person he had come to at least be able to stand her. After all he kind of had no choice, her being Kurt's BFF and all. "Thanks! Here, can you take one of these?"

Hands came up and took the suicidal melon. Clearing Dave's view, so he was now face to face with…Kurt.

Kurt looked down perplexed at why Dave was looking at him so strangely, "What? What is it? Oh my god! I'm not getting a zit am I?"

Dave opened and closed his mouth for a moment. Thankful that Kurt was too busy looking himself over to see Dave struggle for words. Kurt Hummel was in swim shorts and a white tank top…with bare feet…and ….and…"Are your toe nails pink?"

Kurt looked up surprised. Then back down to his feet, "Oh! I totally forgot! Tina did them for me. She says it's relaxing for her to paint nails." Kurt frowned at Dave, "Should I like, put socks on?"

Dave shook himself out of it, "What? No. It's fine."

"Then why are you starring at me like that?"

"I'm not. It just surprised me that's all."

Kurt looked at Dave suspiciously for another moment before letting it go as Dave moved passed him toward the back yard.

The afternoon had been wonderful. Dave had steadfastly refused to get in the pool until Santana came up to him and whispered in his ear, "Kurt said he wouldn't get in until you did..." She'd nodded over to wear Kurt was sitting with Mercedes and Tina, eating watermelon and laughing about something.

Dave had felt self-conscious as hell taking his shirt off around guys like Puck, Sam and Mike. _Fuck __their __perfect __genetics._ He sat on the side of the pool for a long time until Finn moved away from the guys and getting out of the pool came over and sat down next to him. "Why aren't you swimming?"

Dave looked at the three other guys splashing around in the pool still. And nodding his head at them said, "That's why."

Finn looked puzzled for a second, "What? Because five is an odd number for the game? None of us care Dude. We're just screwing around."

Dave shook his head, "Don't worry about it Finn. Just go back and play with the six-pack club."

Finn's face lit up with understanding, "Oh come on man. Who cares?"

Dave gestured to the girls who were watching the boy's in the pool with wrapped interest. The only thing that kept him from just putting his shirt back on was that Kurt was busy talking to Artie and not paying attention to the pool. "They do."

Finn scoffed, "I have totally heard Kurt and the girls during their slumber parties talk about your arms."

Dave's eyebrows jumped up, "What? Really?" He fought the automatic and amazingly douche worthy urge to flex. But he did look at his arms.

Finn nodded then looked scarred of a moment, "But don't tell them I said that. I wasn't supposed to come down stairs or listen to girl time."

Dave nudged him with his shoulder, "Don't worry man. You're secret's safe with me."

"Great. So come on and swim then."

Dave nodded, standing up and said, "Fine." He stepped back a few more steps and then came at the pool yelled, "Cannonball!"

Kurt had heard the word and ducked. Thankfully both Artie and him were too far from the edge to be affected though. But that hadn't been true for most of the girls.

"Dave you jerk!" Rachel said laughing and wringing out her hair.

Santana flipped her hair and growled out something very angry in Spanish that no one needed to translate. The tone said it all...

Puck gave Dave a high five, "Fucking epic man."

Kurt stood up and did a little spin, showing that he was still dry, "Missed me."

Dave shook his head and said still laughing, "Don't tempt me to get out and throw you in the pool."

"That will be the last thing you ever do David Karofsky." Kurt said darkly. Everyone laughed.

After they had all stuffed themselves on ribs, corn and a varying assortment of salad's both fruit, vegetable and marshmallow based they settled down in chairs scattered around the lawn to watch the fire work show Lima put on each year. They were visible from the Hummel-Hudson house which had been the entire point of the party.

Dave had started out sitting next to Santana on a blanket in a small corner of the lawn. But she'd mysteriously disappeared about ten minutes before. Dave didn't mind though, he'd been pushing her to talk to Brittany since they'd found out that Artie and her had broken up after Regionals. He heard someone coming up behind him and said without turning around, "About time you came back. I was worried you'd fallen into the pool and drowned."

He looked up and saw Kurt standing behind him. Kurt shrugged, "Sorry, it's just me. Santana told me to tell you not to wait up. Mind if I join you?"

Dave loved Santana. She was the best wing man a guy could have. He scooted over a bit to offer Kurt more space on the blanket, "Sure."

Kurt sat down as the tinny sound of far away music floated through the warm summer air toward them. He leaned back a little, breathing in the small wind. "This way a prefect day." Kurt said quietly.

"Near perfect." Dave retorted.

Kurt looked at the other boy, "What's missing?"

Dave looked back up at the sky and said, "A few good friends..." He felt Kurt stiffen a bit. But they really hadn't talked that much about Blaine since the beginning of summer. And Dave had promised Blaine that he would try and get Kurt to forgive him.

Kurt pursed his lips, "I was never that close to Quinn but she is missed..." He said, deliberately ignoring Dave's actual meaning. He wasn't really that angry with Blaine anymore. Well, he was more mad that he hadn't gotten to see the other boy all summer because he'd decided to be a jerk the first week of it. But he missed talking to Blaine. He missed a lot of things. Mostly he wanted to talk to Blaine about Dave... Even though he figured that wouldn't be a good idea under any circumstances. But that didn't stop him wanting.

"Kurt," Dave started, his voice soft in the twilight. "You know you're gonna forgive Blaine."

Kurt glanced over at Dave, their eyes catching for a moment. Before he turn his attention upwards. "Yeah, I know. I can't imagine my life without him..." Kurt sighed, his chest heaving a little just as the music began to rise. The first pop of color erupted in the sky, showering the black with gold. "And I can't imagine our senior year with us not being friends."

Dave looked again at Kurt just as a blue firework dyed his skin cerulean, Dave smiled and looked up at the show above them. "We're gonna be seniors, holy hell."

Kurt laughed,"I know. It's crazy right?" He let out a little gasp as a waterfall of tiny golden sprinkles began to fall. "Those are my favorite..."

"Yeah." Dave nodded. His face still looking up at the display of colors above them. They were only a month or so away from being seniors. And after that? College. He knew his face had fallen a little at the thought. He only had a little over a year..."You still planning on moving to New York?"

Kurt perked up a little at the sound of future hometown. "Of course! How about you? Still thinking about Michigan?"

Dave nodded his head from side to side. "It's on the short, short list..." To be honest Dave still had no clue where he was going to college. His dad and him had talked a little about it while they were camping. But really he just wanted to enjoy being a senior and himself for a little while. That and thinking about moving away from all his actual friends was tearing him up.

"You'll be so far away..."

The sadness in Kurt's voice had Dave turning to look at the boy next to him. But Kurt was still looking at the sky. His eyes lost somewhere above them. Dave sighed and just caught another large burst of fireworks."Well, I'm not there yet you know."

There was a small lull in the show and Kurt looked over to Dave, before scooting a little closer and bumping Dave with his shoulder. Waiting for Dave to look at him before saying, "Promise me we'll still talk."

The jock gave Kurt a look. Trying to play off how excited he'd gotten when Kurt had closed the distance. "Yeah sure, when you have time to remember a dork like me when you're all famous."

Kurt was a bit taken aback by that response. Did Dave really think he was going to just leave and forget him? Even before they had become friends Kurt was pretty sure he had never any chance at forgetting Dave. _You__ don't __ever __forget __your __first __kiss __after __all._"David. You are in no danger of me ever forgetting you. I want you in my life."

Dave kept his face starring up at the sky. Mostly because he didn't want Kurt to see that he was tearing up. When he felt like his voice wasn't in any danger of cracking he said very quietly, "I want you in mine."

Kurt had been a bit too absorbed in the show above them to see Dave's struggle. But he heard his response. "So you promise then?"

Dave nodded. "I swear."

Kurt smiled and resting his head gently on Dave's shoulder for a moment replied, "You better."

The rest of the firework show they spent in silence together, the only noises were the interspersed gasps and ahhs at the light display above them.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

**The Next Morning**

Dave hadn't actually slept at all the night before. His thoughts swirling with almost dreams of base ball games and fireworks. He rolled over and shook Santana awake, the Latina had come in and laid down next to him at some ungodly hour of the morning.

Santana groaned and muttered a few choice words that Dave knew were curses She opened up one eye, "What the hell Karofsky?"

"I'm going to tell him."

She starred blankly at him for a minute. "Tell him what?"

Dave rolled his eyes, "That I love him."

Again, Santana looked like she had no idea what he was talking about. Finally she just rolled over saying, "God speed my child. Don't wake me up this early ever again."

Dave laughed and kissed the back of her head. Before rolling over and finally falling asleep.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

**Mid July**

Dave groaned, spinning around in his computer chair slowly. The fourth of July party had been almost a week ago. And he still hadn't told Kurt anything. He kept wanting to, kept almost saying something but it never felt right. It wasn't something he could just blurt out. He pushed the heels of his palms into his eyes. _Fuck __it._ He picked up his phone and hit Kurt's number. The moment he heard the soft happy tone of Kurt's hello Dave said, "Movie and lunch? My treat?"

Kurt had been sitting at his mirrored vanity doing his morning routine when he'd answered the phone. His head bobbing slightly to the sound of Barbie girl playing. He smiled at himself in the mirror even if he wasn't the person he was really smiling at. "Now how am I supposed to say no to something like that?"

Dave laughed, "You're not supposed to."

Kurt jumped at the opening. "Ah, well then. I see I'm trapped."

Dave returned fire. "My prisoner for the day. I'll be around to pick you up in thirty minutes."

Dave couldn't help but laugh at the upset squawk that came out of his phone as Kurt stated firmly, "That''s not enough time!"

Dave shrugged his shoulders, even if Kurt couldn't see it. "I don't care. It shouldn't take that long to dress. And if I know you you're basically done with all that face stuff you're doing right now anyway."

Kurt blushed, putting down one of the wipes he'd been using. _Did__ Dave__ really __know__ his__ routine__ so __well?_ He was right on the money though. Kurt huffed exaggeratedly into the phone, "You're such a brute."

Kurt could hear the smile on Dave's lips as the bigger boy said the next line. "Yup, that's me. Thirty minutes." Without further fanfare Dave hung up and Kurt put the phone down getting up immediately to search for appropriate movie and lunch date outfits. _Dear__ sweet __lady __did __he __just __think __date?_ Kurt shrugged at himself in the mirror, _So __what __if __he'd __thought __date? __It __was __one. __It __was__ a __lunch__ date __with __one__ of __his __closest_ friends.. Kurt didn't know who he was trying to kid with that statement but he let it go.

Thirty-five minutes later Dave had pulled up to Kurt's house. Cutting the engine and padding up to the front door, he knocked three times before Kurt had opened the door waving his arms in front of Dave's face and saying that he wasn't ready yet. Dave had smiled at that and pulled up a chair in the kitchen to wait. Kurt came down ten minutes later. Looking great as always. "Where do you even buy sparkly spider pins?"

Kurt gave Dave a look, "It's a brooch David." Dave sighed resignedly. An answer like that meant the bigger boy was about to get educated when Kurt's attention was pulled by something behind Dave's head. It was a brown paper bag. Kurt grabbed it, "Oh no! Dad forgot his lunch."

Dave gave the bag a look, "You make him a sack lunch?"

Kurt looked inside the bag to see if Burt had really forgotten it or just picked out the things he'd wanted to eat. Nope everything present and accounted for. He glanced up at Dave. "Every day. You should see the stuff he'll eat if I don't."

"Wanna drop it off?"

Kurt thought for a moment. He knew they were on a schedule, since Dave had said which movie he'd wanted to see. He tightened his lips. Burt really should have his lunch though. If he didn't have the lunch he'd eat out of that damn vending machine again. Or heaven help him he'd get that horrible Chinese take out. The amount of MSG in that sweet and sour chicken had Kurt breaking out in hives just thinking of it. "...No, I guess it will be okay. I don't want us to miss the movie."

Dave let out a deep sigh. Kurt really wasn't good at keeping his thoughts off his face. "Grab the lunch. The Tire shop is on the way. We can always go to a later showing."

The smaller boy's eyes brightened. "Really?"

Dave nodded, "Yeah, you'll just worry about it all day if we don't."

Kurt gave him a soft smile, "Thank you Dave."

"Yeah, yeah." Dave said, ushering Kurt out of the front door.

The drive to the tire shop was quiet but not uncomfortable. Dave let Kurt fiddle with his iPod until the boy found something he liked. Kurt always got DJing privileges in Dave's car.

Kurt jumped out of the truck saying quickly. "You should probably stop and say hi. He'd like that. "

When the door shut Dave closed his eyes and hit his head on the steering wheel. "Kurt. I love you. I've always loved you." _Why __was __that __so __hard __to __say __when __Kurt __was __in __the __car? _Grumbling at himself he got out of the car, following after Kurt.

Kurt looked around the floor but didn't see Burt anyway. Frowning a little he saw his brother's long legs sticking out from underneath an old Ford. Nudging the leg with his foot he said, "Hey Finn! Where's dad?"

Finn poked his head out for a minute before going back to work, "Hey Kurt. He's in his office."

Kurt looked toward the little office at the back of the shop. The widow shade was closed. Kurt's frown deepened. "Paper work?"

Still buried underneath the Ford Finn's voice floated out, "Nah, he was complaining about having heart burn or something this morning. So, he went into his office to take some meds and wait for them to work."

Kurt felt a sinking feeling in his chest. But tried to calm himself down. _It__ doesn't __necessarily __mean__ anything.__ He __could've __just __eaten __something __bad __last __night. __We __had __gazpacho __last __night... _"How long ago?"

"Uh, about fifteen minutes ish." Kurt caught the answer as he was already moving toward the office.

Knocking gently he opened the door, the shade bouncing against the door making a little metallic rattling sound that Kurt had always hated. "Dad?"

But had, had his head in his hands, elbows on his desk sitting up hurriedly when he heard Kurt's voice. "Hey kiddo."

Kurt looked at his father. There was a tightness around his eyes. Pain? Or maybe he really was just tired. Kurt came in and closed the door behind him. "You okay? You forgot your lunch."

"Thanks. I'm fine. Just some heart burn."

Burt smiled and Kurt knew that he was lying. Kurt touched his dad's arm gently, "How long?"

Burt shrugged. "A little last night. Then it went away. Then it came back this morning."

Kurt was beginning to feel a little sick himself. All those websites he'd visited after his dad's episode came flooding back. "I think we should take you to the hospital..."

"Don't be silly. I'm fine." Burt said, brushing off the conversation and standing up.

"Dad. Please." Kurt reached for his dad's arm again, looking him in the eyes.

He could see his dad struggling to say something that wouldn't worry him. That would get Kurt to relax. "Kurt, I'm okay." _That __wasn't __going__ to__ do __it..._

Kurt's eyes narrowed and his voice took on his best my-way-highway tone. "You are either getting into the car with me and Dave or you'll go in an ambulance. Your choice."

Burt looked at his son once more before he let out a deep sigh. Kurt didn't like that he'd won so easily either. There was something really wrong. "Alright. But it's going to turn out to be nothing."

Kurt shrugged, pushing his dad out the door of the office, "And when the doctor tells me that I will apologize to you."

Kurt waved Dave over as soon as he saw him. Dave came over shoulder's hunch a little and smiled, "Hey Mr. Hummel, Burt, sir."

Burt nodded, "Hey Dave. You and Kurt going to a movie?"

Dave nodded back, "That's the plan sir."

Kurt cut in over the pleasantries, "New plan. We're taking Dad to the hospital. I'm going to go tell Finn."

Kurt bounded off before Dave could ask any questions. He looked at Mr. Hummel with an obvious question on his face. The older man just shrugged. "Sorry about this Dave."

Dave frowned, shaking his head. "No trouble. The movie will be there tomorrow."

Burt smiled at the boy and patted him on the shoulder, "You'll probably be able to make a later showing. This is going to be nothing."

It wasn't nothing...


End file.
